NL WILD CARD SERIES: PADRES VS METS

October 9, 2022

Jurickson Profar

Citi Field

San Diego Padres

Pregame Press Conference

Q. How much fun have you had in this series so far, and how much are you looking forward to this contest tonight?

JURICKSON PROFAR: A lot of fun. A lot of fun, especially the first game that we won here. I'm looking forward for tonight to do the same.

Q. Do or die situation. How do you handle that as a player? How do you sort of keep things under control, keep the emotions under control coming into this ballgame?

JURICKSON PROFAR: I think we had a pretty good game yesterday, but I think one inning got away a little bit and they won the game. I expect it to be a lot better tonight with Joe going. Our guys are pumped up to do the same thing we did the first night here.

Q. You guys faced Bassitt twice so far this season, but it was back in July. Do those experiences help? Has it been too long?

JURICKSON PROFAR: It helps a little bit, but playoff baseball is always different. We always have to focus on tonight instead of when we faced him a while ago.

Q. For those of us who don't see the Padres every day, you seem to have really taken to your leadoff role in that lineup, very pesky at-bats in this series against topnotch pitchers. Have you really relished that role hitting in front of Juan and Manny, and do you think it's really been well suited for you, a good spot for you?

JURICKSON PROFAR: Yes. I think it fits me really well. It fits my style of hitting. Especially now with another superstar behind me, I feel good about it.

Q. Jurickson, with all that you guys have been through this year, the ups, the downs, the drama, all that, what is success for this year? Do you need to win this series and keep advancing for this year to have been a success?

JURICKSON PROFAR: Yes, yes. We're going to give it all tonight. We're going to give it all. We know how much it's going to mean to us and to the fans that have been following us or watching us this year. It's going to mean a lot when we win tonight.

Q. Jurickson, this place was kind of rocking on Friday. You had the first pitch single, quieted them a little bit. You had the home run, quieted them a little bit. How important is it to take the crowd out of the game, and what does it feel like when you do that, when you get a hit or home run, that kind of takes the decibel from here to here?

JURICKSON PROFAR: For me personally, the crowd doesn't matter. We still have to see the ball, hit the ball, catch the ball. It doesn't really mean a lot to me. I always focus on me and my team.

Q. Bob talked the other day about kind of you evolving into more of a leadership role as you've become a veteran. How have you taken that challenge on, and how have you started to speak up and maybe assert yourself?

JURICKSON PROFAR: I don't think -- I think I always had it in me, but sometimes you need to see some results on the field too to speak up a little bit. You need something to back it up. This year has been pretty good for me.

Q. Could you describe your relationship with the Ha-Seong I saw both of you guys hanging together always. Could you describe it.

JURICKSON PROFAR: Nice. He's like my little brother. I'm from Curacao, and he's from Korea. Because it's far, you don't really have your family here all the time. So that's why I really love him, and I love what he do, I love what he brings.

I think with this year under his belt, he's only going to get better.

Q. Your roster has a lot of players who didn't come up through the Minor Leagues with the Padres. It's a lot of guys from a lot of different teams. You're actually one of the longest tenured guys now. You've been here for a couple years. When new players come in, how do you and Manny and the other older guys make sure that they feel comfortable, feel that they're a part of the team?

JURICKSON PROFAR: That's a good question. It's a little difficult. I got traded from Texas to Oakland. I spent like eight years in Texas, and then I went to Oakland. It was very, very hard for me, like getting to know new friends. You try to impress. You feel like you have to impress your teammates. You have to impress your manager, the fans.

It's not like that. They acquire you for some reason. They already know what you can do. So that's why, when guys like that come to our ball club, we really like to let them know that they just to to be themselves. You don't have to impress nobody. We already know what you can do.

I think the ownership and then A.J., they do a great job acquiring guys that really fit the ball club with their characters.