AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 22, 2021

Yordan Alvarez

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Postgame 6 Press Conference

Astros - 5, Red Sox - 0

Q. Yordan, congratulations. At this time last year, you were recovering from knee surgeries, and you couldn't even be with the team in the ALCS. Just how motivated at that point were you to get back and contribute the way you are here in the playoffs?

YORDAN ALVAREZ: Super happy. Super happy. I just want to give thanks to God, first, before everything, just for the opportunity to be here, but really it was incredible. I didn't really imagine myself being able to come out of that surgery on both knees and be able to do this as quickly as I did. So it was really unbelievable for me to be able to come back and do what I did, but just super happy to be here and be able to contribute like that.

Q. Yordan, in light of your knees, you got to show off your speed tonight. Could you talk about the triple? Were you thinking triple all the way, and then could you also talk about scoring from third on the ground ball to first?

YORDAN ALVAREZ: Yeah, when I hit the ball, originally I was thinking it a double, just thinking about getting to second base. When I got past first, I looked up and saw that there wasn't anybody close to the ball, so I thought about continuing on to third base. That's what I did. I was able to get to third in that situation.

As far as scoring, yeah, I just waited to see that the ball hit the ground first because I wanted to avoid the double play. I didn't want to get caught up in a double play. As soon as it hit the ground, I took off towards home, and I saw that he got caught up a little bit on first base, and that allowed me to score right there.

Q. Can you talk about how it feels just to have a manager like Dusty Baker who believes in you?

YORDAN ALVAREZ: Yeah, incredible. Really incredible. I have to give him a lot of thanks as well. Just because I haven't spent a ton of time with him coming into this year because I wasn't with the team, but just in the time I've been with him, he understands how it is to be a ballplayer. He understands what guys go through every day. I got a chance to spend time with his in Spring Training as well. He has been really helpful to me, and I'm thankful for everything that he has given to me in this time together.

Q. You weren't here in 2017, and you guys came so close in 2019. Just how hungry are you to win a World Series title?

YORDAN ALVAREZ: Yeah. Ever since the news came out, the bad news that we've had to deal with about what happened in 2017, I think we've all wanted to prove what kind of class of players that we are and team that we are. I wasn't here with the team in 2017, but I've gotten booed just as equal as anybody else. So I think we all have the same mentality that we really want to win a World Series to demonstrate that we are just a great team. And that that's what wins a championship is just the talent that we have in this club.

Q. What was going through your mind when -- off the bat when you hit that one off the right field wall above the foul poll? Did you think it was going to be a home run at one point, and have you ever hit one off the roof?

YORDAN ALVAREZ: Yeah, I think I should have taken a little bit more time to appreciate that one because I think off the bat I knew that it was foul right away, so I wasn't thinking too much. I was just concentrating on the at-bat, but afterwards I was, like, wow, I really hit that ball pretty high, hit pretty far as well. I think I should have taken a little more time to appreciate it a little bit more, but I was just focused on the at-bat.

Q. Can you talk about the pitching in the last two games and how they were able to recover from what they went through in Games 2 and 3 and giving you the opportunity to be able to do what you did and have that trophy up there?

YORDAN ALVAREZ: Thanks to them that we're in this position. Thanks to them that we were able to win the American League Championship. I think they demonstrated, especially these last couple of outings, they outdid themselves with the jobs that they did. And it was really impressive, but they don't stop surprising us with the kind of quality they have as well. It's just thanks to them that they put us in a position to be able to win the series and this championship.

Q. What does that trophy mean to you?

YORDAN ALVAREZ: It means everything. It means everything. I think there's a lot of things that I could say that's behind that trophy, but all I can say is it just means everything.