AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 16, 2021

Chas McCormick

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Hi, Chas. We haven't seen the lineup today. Are you playing?

CHAS McCORMICK: I am.

Q. How do you think you've stayed in some sort of rhythm, alternating time with Jake, and how do you stay engaged and stay ready to go when you don't know when you come to the ballpark every day if you're going to be playing?

CHAS McCORMICK: That's a good question.

Yes, since Meyers and I have been platooning, I think it has been tricky keeping some rhythm and staying ready. But, yeah, I don't know, hitting in this lineup I think it's pretty contagious, so you see other guys hitting the ball pretty well. And it kind of just gives you a sort of confidence even if you haven't played in a couple of days or you have been sitting every other day seeing the big-time hitters like Correa and Altuve and Bregman put up good at-bats, I think that gives you a sort of confidence up there Even if you feel like your rhythm is a little bit out of it.

But, I mean, even since I've had a couple of days off and on, I felt pretty good up to plate especially last night, I feel like I saw the ball great. But since it's postseason, you got to be ready for anything. So you're playing every day, you're not playing every day, hitting is still the same thing. But, like I said, just mentally, physically, emotionally just being prepared for whatever happens and just kind of competing your butt off every day.

Q. Last night Jose said if you're not on base when he hits a home run, it's a different game. What do you think about that?

CHAS McCORMICK: Yeah, that awesome him saying that, coming from him. I remember yesterday after the game he told me that. He said, Chas, I saw you get that hit yesterday, and you gave me the opportunity to tie the game up. And I was, like, wow, you just have confidence every time you go up on to plate that you might hit a home run. That just kind of tells you how good Altuve is.

When he told me that last night after the game, I was, like, wow. In the moment when I had that base hit and he hit the home run I was, like, okay. But then it's a tie ball game when we made it 3-3, and I was, like, wow, that was a big part of the game. And just starting things off hitting the ball up the middle, and obviously, you know, Altuve can do whatever he wants to do up to plate. I wasn't surprised he hit a first pitch slider out, but hearing that from him means a lot.

Q. What was it like for you after the game? You had the three-hit day. How long did it take you to come down from that, get your arms around it, that kind of thing?

CHAS McCORMICK: It was tough. It was tough to sleep last night just from playing in that big game last night and with the crowd and how awesome and amazing that game was.

It took me a while to fall asleep last night, and I knew we had a day game. So those are tough, the late night games and then coming in the next day into a day game. Because I felt like it was 1:00 last night and I was wide awake.

But you've got to give credit to the fans and just how beautiful this game is and how fun it was last night playing with the guys and ended up winning the game.

Q. I wondered, as one of the newer guys on the team, what is it like for you to see the duo of Altuve and Correa and see their relationship and see everything they've done for this team and continue to do for this team?

CHAS McCORMICK: Yeah, it's incredible. Even just getting drafted in '17 kind of like the start of them being a powerhouse, basically, and just sitting at home and watching them from the TV, watching them play in October, and making it to the ALCS, making it to the World Series.

Now being a part of it and contributing and even being out on the field and watching them turn a double play, it's one of the coolest things ever. And they do it so smoothly, and it seems like they do it on a daily basis.

They just don't mess up the double plays. You can tell those two have so much chemistry, and they've kind of been doing that for seems like six straight years now, but just even the whole infield, Like Bregman and Yuli. Correa always preaches about defense, and you know that that infield won't make any mistakes.

Q. You were drafted in '17; is that right? Astros went to the World Series. Did you intently watch them that October and could you have imagined that a few years later you would be in the middle of it like this?

CHAS McCORMICK: Even just growing up I loved watching October postseason baseball. Always one of my favorite things. Even just seeing the towels. Any stadium. But obviously, seeing them in '17 I was, like, this team is amazing, and obviously, it was awesome watching them play and watching them do great. But, honestly, I thought by the time I reach the Big Leagues I thought maybe the Astros would be rebuilding or just not as good as they've been from 2016 to 2020.

But I'm just super blessed and super grateful that I made my debut in the beginning of this 2021 season and now we're on a run, a chase for the World Series.

Q. Chas, during that last Ranger series in the regular season you came and told us that you just felt like nothing was going right for you, but then the next day you get a hit and you get a home run. What do you attribute to your turnaround to the point where you had that great Game 1 yesterday?

CHAS McCORMICK: The Ranger series was kind of when, I guess, I was struggling a little bit coming off the IL. My first couple of at-bats I couldn't really find any hits, didn't feel that good, kind of then started to platoon with Meyers. Obviously, I was a little down because I want to play every day, but you just have to be patient in baseball. You're going to go through struggles. You're going to be really high and do really great, and then you're going to be at your lowest, but you just got to be patient.

Like I said, Rangers and then I got that pinch at-bat home run. We were up by a lot, and then the next day I got a hit that brought in some runs. Still wasn't really felt that great up to plate. Still kind of struggling, but you kind of try to just piece the good stuff together when it happens, and then you kind of hope to -- okay, it's going to start falling for you, and I think that's baseball. It's kind of good karma and kind of things just start falling for you.

Q. It seems like everyone on this team has had kind of a big moment at some point this season, kind of like Altuve and Correa's homers last night. But when you've had something like that and when you've had a walk-off or a big pinch-hit home run, when most of the time it's up to you to just kind of move the line and keep things going with a walk or a single, what kind of mentality do you have to have to kind of adjust and do what's needed from you on any given day?

CHAS McCORMICK: As a rookie like me and since I'm playing center field, my job is to make the right plays in center field and play great defense. We have a great lineup, so obviously, I want to hit. That's a bonus, but I think that's why I feel pretty good up at the plate right now. I think you don't have to do as much personally, me, because, again, we have Bregman, Altuve, Brantley, Tucker in that lineup. Kind of puts some stress off my shoulders, and obviously I love to hit.

I think hitting is the most important thing in the game, so just being able to see the ball well and even just being in the 8 hole and making the pitcher throw pitches, that's fine. That's huge. Like, if I can foul some off -- maybe not get on base and not get a hit, but if I can foul some off and get this pitcher's pitch count up, I think that's huge because then he has to face the big guys.

Yeah, you got to give credit to the lineup, and it's relaxing to hit with this group.

Q. Obviously, playing center field in this ballpark, what have you picked up about the nuances of playing here, whether it's the grass, the reads, and sort of building off of that, when you think about all of those elements? How impressive was it to watch what Kiké did last night on the opposite side?

CHAS McCORMICK: I like playing this stadium. You can see the ball well, the dome. There's no weird wind that makes the ball move around, but it's a cool park because there's no gaps. It's either you hit one out of the stadium or it's going to be a fly ball. You don't really hit any doubles in the gap.

But obviously, Kiké is one of the best players on the planet right now, so he is fun to watch. And even just making a great defensive play last night saving two runs from Brantley, I mean, that's what big players do. And it's funny, I feel like there's always that one player in the postseason that's playing unreal, and that's kind of Kiké.

But I like playing in this stadium a lot. Playing center field, I see the ball just fine. There are some parks where it's hard to see or the wind takes it. You don't get many weird bounces off the wall either. It's a pretty flat wall all around. Obviously, in Fenway I'm going to be doing some early work seeing balls off the wall because that's a little different, but, yeah.

Q. One follow-up. I asked Coach Shehan at Millersville about you a couple weeks ago. He said two things: number one, incredible work ethic, and, number two, you did a brilliant mock interview during your media training that was legendarily brilliant. Can you share any stories about that or what Millersville did for you as you've grown into a major league player?

CHAS McCORMICK: I love playing at Millersville University. Coach Shehan, everything he taught me in college, I was, like, is he saying the right thing or was it going in one ear, out the other. And now just going through the Minor Leagues and playing Major League Baseball, he was right with the small details and everything.

My mock interview my freshman year, I don't know, I was kind of new to the team. Never really got interviewed before, so I was the first one they called up beginning of the year too, and I didn't really know any guys. They asked me questions. I don't think I said necessarily the right thing, but it was just they were talking about, oh, what other schools were looking at you, and why didn't you go to those other schools? Why did you pick Millersville?

I was just not saying the right things. But I came a long way, and I knew after that moment I had to work on some interview skills, but I'm happy I went through that. That's a good thing to go through because of where I'm at now and kind of helping me a lot.

Q. Can you go back to July 30th, what you were doing or how you took the news that Myles Straw had been traded and how things have played out for you since then?

CHAS McCORMICK: Yeah, yeah. I didn't expect Myles Straw to get traded. He was one of my good friends, taught me a lot kind of going through the Minor Leagues and even Major League Baseball. He just made me feel comfortable at times. I was shocked, obviously, but we needed a bullpen, and I thought Click did a great job of getting some guys in that had some velo and also with great spin. I think Phil has been doing a great job out of the bullpen. And since Straw got traded, I kind of knew I was the everyday center fielder, and I was okay with that. I want to play every day.

In the long run it's paid off, I think, but, obviously, playing every day I felt good. Started to see where my swing was at. It felt fine being an everyday center fielder. Then I got hurt, and that was tough. When I hurt my hand and coming off the IL, I couldn't really find my rhythm back. And Meyers, he is a great player, he was playing well, and now kind of platooning with him. But right now in this time of the season I don't care. It's kind of like how can we win?

Meyers plays better defense in center field, and defense is super important in the postseason, so I understand all the matchups or however we do it, but, I mean, I was happy with it. They basically have given me confidence, and they believed in me. Taking away Straw and giving it up to me and Meyers, and I was kind of the first guy up, but, obviously, losing some of the guys, Straw and even Toro, they were some of my good friends, which in the beginning I was kind of, like, wow. But I know it's a business, and I got over it.

Right now where I'm at, I'm happy to be what we're doing right now.