NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 18, 2021

Charlie Morton

Dodger Stadium

Atlanta Braves

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. You've faced the Dodgers twice this season and at last year's World Series. How has that prepared you to face them now?

CHARLIE MORTON: Maybe in a general sense it does, and I guess having seen them for a few years now with the corp that they have, the guys that they have been able to keep together over there. But when I scout these guys, I'm looking recent history.

So maybe it's more of like a generic, I have a generic idea of what they do well and I'm aware of how good they have been in the regular season and the postseason.

But at the end of the day, I really have to look at those guys as individuals each time I face them because if I -- you can kind of get overwhelmed by a team, especially if they're performing really, really well, and then, so just being objective and trying to look at them as individuals, that's how I'll go about it.

But obviously they're a great team, a lot of professional hitters, professional ball players, and a great pitching staff too.

Q. How special will this place always be for you and what do you remember most, when you think back about Game 7, what part of that game, what sticks out the most?

CHARLIE MORTON: I don't know. I guess the most rewarding thing that I felt probably that whole postseason was just the fact that I was able to do my job and I don't feel like I let my team down, because I really do care about that, trying to go out there and do my job. No matter who I'm playing for or with, those are the -- when I fail and I don't get the job done for my team, that's what really eats at me.

But the most special moments that I've had in my career I would say that's probably the underlying, those are the underlying similarities, just like, man, like I did it. Like, I didn't let the guys down, the team down. I didn't let the organization down, the fans. That's just obviously on the field. But that's what I'll remember is that, probably that feeling of just kind of just some relief that I was able to do it.

Q. You were realistic like in the first 100, 120 games of the season. You were always noting that we had the capability but we got to go on one of those runs and who knows if we're going to be able to do it before the trade deadline and all that. How good does it feel to be here and did you really think this team had a chance to get where you are now, two wins from the World Series and up 2-0 on the Dodgers?

CHARLIE MORTON: Realistically, yes, because of the Division. Everybody was treading water in the Division. And I had felt like the NL East this year was, we were all doing the same thing, but I felt like we were good teams. Even teams that finished at the bottom of the Division this year, I felt like, like a team like the Marlins, like I felt like the Marlins were, for as young as their lineup is and their pitching, I mean, they have all the tools to do damage, I think, and they're going to be really good in the future.

So even a team like that in our Division, where we were just kind of going at each other and like nobody could pull away. But, yeah, realistically, like I didn't see a reason why we couldn't win the Division. Then once you get in the playoffs, and I'm speaking from the perspective of, I guess, where my mindset was at in July, right?

And then if you win the Division and then anything can happen in the postseason. Obviously Ronnie got hurt and then Alex made some tremendous moves at the deadline, and obviously I think everybody's outlook certainly changed to some degree, but I wasn't sitting there in July thinking we have no shot to do anything in the Division this year. I just think what, where we were was kind of stuck with our own expectations and everyone else's expectations coming into spring training. It was like, here's a team that's one win away from going to the World Series, you know, basically the same team and it just didn't look like we were the same team as the team that was here last year.

So I think everybody's expectations kind of had to be revisited, and like we talked about before, it's like four months of just, everybody just kind of grinding trying to streak a couple wins together.

So, yeah, I'm sorry about the length of that response. I don't know what I'm talking about now.

Q. Let me jog your memory a little bit. AJ said the night before, he told you it would be McCullers first, and then you would be coming out of the pen. That was flip-flopped in the ALCS Game 7. His expectation was you would probably be in there by the 4th or 5th. What were your thoughts as it got pushed back to the 6th and then take us to the 8th when he told you to stand as far away from the plate as possible for that at-bat.

CHARLIE MORTON: I remember him just telling me that I was going to get in the game, whether it was in the middle of the game or the end of the game, and he didn't know which one it was going to be. And I remember being somewhat surprised by that.

But I do remember just getting on a little bit of a roll and him saying, you're going to hit, and then just, we decided I wasn't going to swing and I was just going to stand there. I like that, like anytime anyone tells me not to swing a bat because I hate hitting, but, yeah.

Q. Go back to 2017 again. The reality of the experience, how did it differ from your perception going into that and how did that moment help for an evening like tomorrow?

CHARLIE MORTON: Yeah, I don't know. That's a really good question. Yeah, I guess for me personally I think because I tended to always doubt myself, and I get really anxious, like I was getting like, during my first postseason start, which was with the Pirates, people describe surreal moments, like it's kind of similar to that, except the thing that happens -- it's kind of similar to like a debut, where you are just, you're just subconsciously and physically wired to be able to go out and pitch, and your mentality and your emotions, they are woven into that and they tug at everything else, sometimes extremely, sometimes subtly.

But you're really just struggling to just find that lane and that tunnel that can help you be successful. And I guess it never really sank in, even in 2013, that first postseason start that I had, until after the moment.

And then in the postseason in 2017, I don't know, I guess I just never, I never thought of myself as someone that was actually going to impact a team in that way, so that whole postseason was just, it was surreal, and I've been fortunate to be on -- I mean, I've been on a playoff team, if you're counting Wild Card teams, I've been on a playoff team every single year since 2013, except for 2016 when I was with the Phillies.

I was with the Pirates '13, '14 and '15, and then '17 and '18 with the Astros, '19, '20 with the Rays, and now here in 2021. And I don't know, I guess there's just something about postseason baseball that is just so special and unique and rare because I know that, I know so many guys that play this game never even get a chance to experience that, and I'm very aware of that.

But I don't think that my perception of what it is, it will never be accurate. I'm not sure that it could be, from where I am, for most guys in the clubhouse, because we have these, we've all had like the dreams when we were younger and we've all watched postseason baseball on TV and we played the video games. We've gone to the games and sat in the stands and now here we are and it's like it doesn't feel like it could be possible. So I hope that answers your question.

Q. You mentioned special, unique, rare this time of year. What about this team, I think about all the different guys right who stepped up in big moments already and I know that tends to be a characteristic of teams at this point in the year, but why has that worked for this group? Why has it become the MO for this group?

CHARLIE MORTON: Well, kind of what I was talking to Dave about, we were a team that, I think there were a lot of expectations surrounding the team, and we had some things happen in the year. We had some bad luck, some weird stuff happen, and we just were grinding for four months.

We have a lot of new faces. But like me personally, like I've made a concerted effort to try to connect with people as deeply as possible when I got to spring training and onward, but it's hard to do that and learn how to do that like every other year, which is what I've been doing for, since 2016. But I've found myself rooting for a lot of guys on this team very naturally and easily because I know that they're good dudes.

I think at the core of success, as a team, guys just have to care about each other and I think this group does. I think this group cares a lot about each other. And I know just watching the past, especially the past two nights how the guys have really embodied that, excited for each other, encouraging each other, screaming at each other in a positive way, and just genuinely happy for teammates, to see teammates succeed. I think that's what you're seeing.

Q. You talked about in your career having those moments of anxiousness and self-doubt. At one point did you start to feel that you had that confidence and how did you learn to kind of put that away before every start in the postseason? Was there anything specifically that you learned throughout your career to be able to table those nerves and anxious thoughts?

CHARLIE MORTON: I would say the opportunities that I had to pitch in the postseason the first few times. So like the fact that the Pirates gave me the ball in 2013 in the Division Series start. Then the fact that the Astros gave me the ball in 2017 and in 2018. I would say that where I am now with my approach mentally and emotionally to a postseason start, there's no way around it, just to say it's not, it wasn't easy, like it wasn't like I read a book or I got a quote sent to me and things just changed. I would say it was earned. Not just postseason stuff, but just from where I was from 2008. And I would say that I've been extremely fortunate to continually be given the ball when I failed over and over again. Like with the Pirates, how they just stuck with me, I was there for seven years. Several of those seasons were not good, one in particular was like historically bad. Through injuries, the Pirates stuck with me, so that led to other opportunities with other teams. And here I am, I'll be 38 in a month and feeling like a completely different person from on the field completely different than where I was and I'm pretty glad how it happened. Like I'm glad that I didn't have a ton of success early in my career, and I feel bad saying that because I think, dang, you know, the Braves drafted me, spent seven years developing me. I get traded. The Pirates stuck with me through several years of frustration. The Phillies traded for me, I gave them four starts. But I don't think that I would be at a place -- maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't -- but I just know that right now I'm at peace with where I am, I'm at peace with where I am on the mound, in my life and, who knows, maybe if I was 24 and putting up a 2 or 3 ERA for a few years and someone paid me a huge contract and maybe you would be talking to some guy that wouldn't give you the time of day. I don't know. Maybe I wouldn't be the same dude. But I feel pretty good about where I am, like really appreciative and thankful how it happened.