MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

October 30, 2021

Carlos Correa

Truist Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. Carlos, you warming up up there?

CARLOS CORREA: It's so cold.

Q. How do you guys feel? Obviously 2-1 deficit is not where you wanted to be. I know Dusty was really disappointed you couldn't hit, getting on the field. How do you feel, and how do you deal with this situation?

CARLOS CORREA: We feel great. Obviously, we were here before not long ago. We were down 2-1, and we ended up winning the series against another great team.

We've just got to focus. Yeah, yesterday wasn't the ideal day. We couldn't get our routine done and all that, but the same for the other team, and they found a way to get the win.

So we've just got to go out there today and win this game. It's a must win for us.

Q. Carlos, they're going with an opener today, and they'll mix and match in a bullpen game. It seems like that's been the trend around the game. As a hitter, how does that change your preparation, if at all, knowing you're going to see five or six arms and you're not going to see a starter two or three times a game?

CARLOS CORREA: It's completely different. With a starter, it's not a matchup. It's just a starter, and you know what he's got, how he's going to pitch. When you're facing the bullpen, they're going to match up their best arm they got against your weaknesses as a hitter. That's why the game is trending that way. It seems to work.

But at the same time, they also make mistakes, and we've got to capitalize on those mistakes. If we do that, then we'll have a good chance of winning the game.

Q. Carlos, what does it mean to be a finalist for the Gold Glove again? And what would it mean to you if you win it?

CARLOS CORREA: It means a lot. It's something I've been working really hard on throughout my entire career. Every year has been getting better. With the work that I've done with Espada, very proud of what we accomplished. We got one of the awards already, which was the Fielding Bible, and hopefully we can get that Gold Glove. It will truly mean a lot to win it this year.

Q. What did you think about four of your teammates being a finalist as well?

CARLOS CORREA: It's great. We speak a lot about defense, and we take a lot of pride in that. Since Spring Training, we've been working as a team to truly be the best defensive team in the league. To see so many guys nominated, it truly speaks of the hard work we've put in.

Q. You mentioned after you beat the Red Sox, you were down 2-1, had a little team meeting to say, hey, we're better than this. Have you felt the need to do anything like that in this series being down 2-1?

CARLOS CORREA: No, we know what it takes to win, and we know what we've got to do. We've just got to go out there and focus. Yesterday the pitching staff did a great job, and the offense couldn't pick them up. Today we've got to find a way to score early and often and get this win, like I said.

Q. Carlos, you played a game on the infield track now. Have you got any feel about how balls are coming off the back, given with the weather and everything like that now?

CARLOS CORREA: Here?

Q. Yeah, here.

CARLOS CORREA: It's always a little different with the wet grass. You know the ball's going to skip a little more. So I told the guys before going out there, remember the grass is going to be wet, so the ball is going to be skipping.

It's way harder to play defense in the middle of the rain, obviously. The grip is really hard on the ball and all that. I feel like we played a really solid defensive game yesterday, even though we couldn't take any infield or anything like that to get a feel for the infield. I thought it was pretty solid.

Q. Carlos, this is your third time in the World Series, but has this felt any different considering what may be on the horizon for you? You obviously have a huge decision to make for your future? How has it felt these last few days being in the World Series with the Astros?

CARLOS CORREA: I've enjoyed every single second of it with this group of guys. It just feels like we want to go out there and win it. It's really hard to get to a World Series. Like you said, three years out of five, it's pretty special. It will be even more special if we can win it. We didn't win the last one, that one still hurts, so we want to make sure we go out there tonight, get this win, and keep going and hopefully win this one.

Q. Carlos, I know for Greinke the circumstances are different this year than in '19 because he's not stretched out. But what do you remember about that night, Game 7, that Greinke pitched against the Nationals? He was really in control for a while? What impressed you about him that night?

CARLOS CORREA: He was more focused than ever. He really wanted to get outs there. He had a really good chance to win the game, and he did. It was an impressive performance by him against a team that was really hot at the time.

Going back, it still hurts, seeing the way that series ended. But here we are, 2021, with a chance to win another one. So we've got to focus on the now.

Q. Carlos, a moment ago you talked about the four of guys being nominated, and you mentioned Joe as well. Can you talk about -- you've mentioned the word "brotherhood" about those guys and just how special it's been and how Joe has contributed to your evolution as an infield as well.

CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, Joe from the moment he got here, when we would take the infield, it never felt like work. It always felt like we were having fun with him out there from the moment he showed up to Spring Training. When you're having fun out there in the infield with your brothers, good things are going to happen.

I feel like every time we take an infield, you see us joking around and getting the work done, but at the same time, having such a great time. That's our playground, and we enjoy it. We all have gotten better with him.

Q. Your offense has been pretty streaky this postseason, hot and cold runs. Is it tough to get out of the cold runs? Does it just take one big hit to kind of get everybody going? How much do you all feed off of each other's production and energy and all that?

CARLOS CORREA: That's what happens when you're in the playoffs and you're facing the best pitchers in the world. You don't get many easy at-bats in the postseason. It's not like you're facing No. 5 starters and all that. You're facing 1, 2, 3, and then bullpen.

So it's a little hard to hit in the playoffs, of course, but I feel like our offense has been great overall. Yesterday we were not able to put our bats together as a team. We had some walks here and there, but nothing happened after that. Today we've got to figure out a way to put our bats together, keep the line moving that we're known for, and that would give us, obviously, a chance to win.

Q. What do you feel about not having a DH here, losing a bat out of your lineup, and what's your opinion on the universal DH going forward so this doesn't happen again?

CARLOS CORREA: I think there should be a DH in both leagues. I think that's the way to keep moving the game forward. People come to the ballpark to see a great game, but also they love to see home runs. Pitchers are not hitting many of them. So I think the DH should be universal.

It's just a different game when you come to the National League. You got that out with the pitcher -- I don't want to say free out, because some of the pitchers can actually hit, but you just walk the eight batters, you're in trouble, and then you face a pitcher and get out of the inning.

So to me, that's not real baseball. I want to see real hitters out there who will make it a little tougher for the pitchers also.

Q. Secondly, you've already lost guys like Cole and Morton and Springer to free agency off of your past teams. The infield is still together. Do you look at this as like with you going possibly, this might be your last chance as a group to do this?

CARLOS CORREA: We talked about it as an infield. We've enjoyed all of the years we played together.

We've done some great things. We've made history. I love that group of guys with all my heart.

So right now we're just focused on the now and try to win this series. Then we can talk about all that later.

Q. We've seen a few times even this postseason and back in September Framber faced the same team back-to-back starts and would be better the second time out. How have you seen him grow into this role where he has to make these adjustments, and what do you think drives him? Is it pride? Is it the ability to critique his own game and make little changes where needed?

CARLOS CORREA: I think all of those. He takes a lot of pride on his outings, and he wants to go out there and pitch a complete game every single time. What I love about him is he's able to make those adjustments. You saw this year against Boston. It was a masterful performance the second time around.

We expect that from him tomorrow, to go out there and make the adjustments necessary to give us a chance to win the game.

Q. Carlos, you talked about pitchers and hitting. What about Zack Greinke? Dusty said the other day, he's dying to hit. What about him is not a hitter?

BRIAN SNITKER: He's a good hitter, but he thinks he's Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron if you talk to him. He thinks he has a 1,000 career OPS. So I always mess with him. He's like, Oh, I'm a great hitter. I'm like, yeah, you're a 600 career OPS guy, what are you talking about?

But when it comes to the pitchers, he's a really good hitter. So I'm looking forward to seeing him swing the bat today once again. He sounds like he's really excited about it.

Q. Just want to ask about tonight. The Stand Up to Cancer where you write a name on a placard, do you have any plans to pay tribute to anybody?

CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, I've got a couple of names. I've got a couple of kids we work with through my foundation, the Correa Family Foundation. I've got names that are special to me and my family. They're close. They're members of our family, and I can't wait to honor them.