MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

November 2, 2021

Kendall Graveman

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 6 Press Conference

Q. Kendall, how are you feeling? After throwing a couple innings the other night, do you think it would be a case where you can pitch in either one of these two games?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: I feel good. Great day of recovery yesterday. One thing I've learned this year is how to prepare the body and how to recover after each outing.

Being the first time in the bullpen, it's well documented that that's the case. I think one thing that I can take away from this year is that the recovery process and how to turn it around. I'll be ready to go tonight.

Q. You probably took the last at-bat by a pitcher in a World Series game. Were you going to swing at all up there, and can you take me through that plate appearance?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: No, they told me don't swing (laughter). And by "they," it was like 10 or 12 people. The competitor inside of me absolutely wanted to go up there and swing. I was throwing on an elbow guard and the batting gloves as if I was going to swing, and there was a thought that, man, this would be fun to take a few swings. I don't think I would have done anything with it.

The risk definitely outweighed the reward of being hit there or at least just taking a swing. So I couldn't have looked everybody in the eye if something were to happen and I wasn't able to pitch in these next two games.

Q. Are you in favor of the universal DH?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: I don't know. I think it adds a different element to the game when you have two different leagues. It is a different ballgame. I kind of like it, and I kind of don't. I really don't have an answer either way. It looks like we may be trending that way.

Q. You and Phil Maton, midseason acquisitions. Can you just let us know what it's like to come in like that and then watch what Phil does in addition to what you've been able to do for this team?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: I think Phil and Yimi also, the additions that the front office made, well documented there also, you gave up pieces to do it, but you're sitting in the World Series going into Game 6. It's special to watch what Phil does on the mound, like he's very unique and pretty much one of a kind in the league. I haven't seen many guys like him be able to spin the ball the way he does. His 91 to 92 plays a lot harder than that.

The goal going forward is just to continue to execute one pitch at a time and see where it goes from there.

Q. You mentioned altering your recovery routine once you transitioned to the bullpen. Is there anyone in particular, whether here or in Seattle, that you kind of picked up tips and tricks from?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: No. I think it's -- I would say communicating with some guys in Seattle, especially early, like a Drew Steckenrider, a Paul Sewald, those guys that have been in the bullpen for a while, especially early on, I was able to talk to and kind of figure out a routine. I think that was, for me, two guys I was able to communicate with and bounce ideas off of.

Obviously, everyone's different in their recovery process and how they go about it, but for me personally, as many minds as I can kind of pick their brains and see what works best for me, that's what I'm always after, not even in that situation, but in pitching in general and life in general, to continue to ask questions, try to learn and grow and gain knowledge from people that have done it a lot longer than I have.

Q. So having been the trade for Donaldson, you went to Oakland, what's your take on -- are you surprised Bob left and went to San Diego? What's your take on the whole situation there at this point?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: In Oakland, I think Bob Melvin is, across the league, so well respected. He's somebody that is -- I would always call a dear friend of mine, somebody that treated me with class and respect, and he's done that with more than just myself, with everyone that he's been a manager for.

I'm excited to see what he does in San Diego. I think he's somebody across the league that will go down as one of the best managers to manage this game. I still communicate with him every so often, just to kind of catch up, especially when we play, and be able to speak and somebody that's always going to be in the forefront of one of my favorite managers.

Q. What do you guys think of what Luis has done in kind of handling all of this stuff? A lot has been put on his shoulders, and now here he is grabbing the ball on three days' rest and ready to go out there and Game 6?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: I think he'll look back at the end of this year sometime in the off-season and just everyone's going to see the growth. Everyone's seeing the growth as it unfolds. But especially as a player, when you're going through it, you sometimes don't realize just the experiences that comes with this and the growth that comes along with it until you step back and see a glimpse of it in the off-season.

I'm excited for him to experience it. Right now he's got one goal in mind, and that's to go out and perform well tonight. At the end of the day, the people from the outside, myself and you guys, I hope you can see just the maturity and the growth and the experience that he's getting right now is going to help his career exponentially. That's something that many guys right now aren't getting a chance to do, and he is.

Q. Have you given much thought to free agency yet? Would you like to return here next year?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: I haven't given much thought to it. Even communicating with my agent, it's something that I won't give thought to until this is over. For me and this team, I think this team is really focusing on one pitch at a time and executing one pitch. To me personally, I haven't given it a thought.

The way my brain works and the way my mind works, I can't let myself go there because I have a job to do right here right now.

Q. Can you just talk about the feeling on this pitching staff? So many changes and so many moves, and you guys are doing different things to get it done. Take us through what it's like to be a part of that.

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: Yes, there's a collective mindset that goes along with getting that job done so far, and that's whoever's on the mound at the given moment, whoever Dusty and Strommy feel that needs the ball at that given moment is the best guy for this situation. I think everyone's bought into that.

I think that for me, just having faith and believing in each guy that goes out, I think there's a collective group that we have to pass the baton to the next guy and continue to get outs. There's 27 outs in a game. It doesn't matter who gets those 27 outs, but we need to continue to support each other, and I think that's one thing that's really made this group well.

Even in the midseason acquisitions -- myself, Yimi, Phil -- the guys that were already in the bullpen have really gravitated and taken us in, and it made us feel like family as soon as we stepped in. That goes a long way to being able to perform as a baseball player.

Q. Have you been saving any differently in preparation for work stoppage? If you got to April and May and there's no paycheck, how would that affect you and your family?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: I always save. I'm a saver by nature. I don't want to think about that, but at the end of the day, to be a good steward of my money is what I'm called to do and steward that well. Not even in work stoppage, but you can see with last year, unforeseen circumstances, as far as the COVID season with 60 games.

There's always times, not even in my life but in each one of you guys' life, I think that's important because there's things that pop up that we don't necessarily expect sometimes.

For me personally, I don't think it will affect me financially.

Q. We talked the other night about earning the right to come back here. Beyond the obvious, I know that you want to play in front of your fans. How different is that experience for you when they're cheering for you as opposed to cheering against you? And are you so locked in, do you recognize the atmosphere in Minute Maid when it's going crazy?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: Yeah, you recognize it. Obviously, you recognize it at different times. Obviously, when something good happens at home, you recognize it. When something not so good happens on the road, you recognize it more.

One thing that I've learned is each fan base across the country is different. Boston fan base is different than Atlanta and different than the White Sox, and they all brought their unique kind of mindset in what they brought to the fans.

Our fans, I've been playing against these guys for so long that, when stuff good happens here, it would get so loud, and that's still the case playing for the Astros.

I really think this team gravitates when our fans show up, and they really continue to perform when our fans are here. At the end of the day, like I said before, I have to be the calmest guy in the stadium, if we're at home or on the road, when I step foot on that mound. So to slow the heart rate down and be able to control my emotions is something that it takes a lot of mental fortitude, but at the same time, it's well worth it.

Q. Some of your teammates have world champion rings. I know you're trying to win your first. What does that, the idea of that ring, mean to a player? If you are able to win it, do you expect to wear it all the time or not or what?

KENDALL GRAVEMAN: The idea, I think, is different for everyone. For me personally, it's something that I've worked really hard to accomplish that goal, but it's not what fulfills me. The fulfillment, the joy of having that ring will only last for a certain amount of time before you feel like you have to do it over again. There's a lasting fulfillment inside of myself that I found elsewhere.

I know it will be a great accomplishment, but it's not something I'll wear all the time, just try to have the humility of it and just understand that I don't need to wear this ring to show off all the time. I think it's something that's just my personality.

I want to win it for this organization and my players, the guys that are around me more so than myself, and I think that's the kind of way my mind works.