AL DIVISION SERIES: GUARDIANS VS YANKEES

October 10, 2022

Cal Quantrill

Austin Hedges

Yankee Stadium

Cleveland Guardians

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Cal, how much if at all were you around in 2004 with your dad when he played here?

CAL QUANTRILL: Yeah, I made it down to the old Yankee Stadium. I have some pretty cool memories from when he was playing here. That was pretty much a Hall of Fame lineup that they were rolling out every day. It was pretty cool. It was cool to play in Yankee Stadium and just get surrounded by a bunch of guys that were probably a couple years away from being inducted.

Q. Austin, we obviously know the difficult roster decision that had to be made before the last series with Bryan Shaw, but it speaks highly of him, of how much he still wanted to be around that clubhouse and trying to lead as much as possible after that. What has he meant in general to the team?

AUSTIN HEDGES: There's a big reason why we signed him back, you know, going into this year. And the value that he brings to a clubhouse, and more than just a clubhouse, because we are together so often away from the field, on the plane, on the bus. And in so many ways having a guy that's been around for ten-plus years, that has pitched in many playoff games, it's really a valuable asset.

And like a perfect example is a day like yesterday. He wasn't with us in Tampa for the games, but he's on the plane, he's on the bus, he's one of the guys that's, you know, just reminding people how good they are and how valuable they are, and that he's still ready. You know, he'll let everybody know that like if his name gets called, Bryan Shaw will be ready.

Q. You've won your last 11 stints since early July. What's allowed you to go on a run like that in?

CAL QUANTRILL: I think keeping the approach simple. I believe in this team. I've said it before. Limit the damage, last as long as I can, and trust that the lineup and the D behind me is going to play their best baseball, and they have. Score a lot of runs. I focus on great pitching and they do great D and allows me to do the thing that I think I'm best at, which is staying in the game and giving me a chance to win.

Q. You've been playing the last couple days and the Yankees have had the last couple days off. What do you think coming right back into a series instead of having that time off and losing some of the hotness that you had?

AUSTIN HEDGES: Yeah, there's definitely always momentum involved when you're on a great winning streak, and we had a great October to start as well. With that being said, I don't think anybody would be upset about getting a bye and not having to play 15 innings against Tampa. But, you know, it ended up giving us a little bit of that momentum so we have to try and carry that forward.

Q. Past couple weeks and months, we have seen teams handle Judge differently. Some come at him and some have not wanted to. Do you guys know how you are going to try to handle him?

CAL QUANTRILL: Yeah, we had a great season. Fantastic baseball player. A season to remember. You know, there's a lot of good hitters in our league. If you overthink every single hitter, it can lead to more problems than solutions. We are aware of what he's capable of. We will do our best to make sure we are managing him.

That said, we will have a game plan. We are not just going to allow him to walk all over us hopefully and we are not going to allow him to take -- to dictate the entire approach to the lineup.

So we'll be ready. I don't think there's any, like, specific plan. He's a good hitter. We'll adjust as we go and we'll try and get him out.

Q. For both of you, does what happened here in April prepare you better for the fans tomorrow night, and how do you maintain your cool when the fans cross the line like they did here in April?

AUSTIN HEDGES: It's a fun aspect of the big leagues, of really all professional sports, how much the fans care. It makes it so much more special. One of the reasons why coming and playing in New York is special is because of how much the fans care. It was a pretty crazy experience we had here in April, but it's not the only one we've had.

We've got to play three series against the White Sox in the south side. That's a hostile environment. Playing teams like that all the time, it helps prepare you for moments like this. So yeah it was a great learning experience for us at the beginning of the year.

But we continue to get tested so it ended up just being one of many tests for us.

Q. What was your viewpoint of it?

CAL QUANTRILL: Yeah, it was a moment in the season. Too bad that it happened that way.

That being said, you know, we love the fans. We love the energy that everyone brings. We are prepared to play baseball here. Like Hedgy said, we have played in big moments this season and we have played in full-capacity stadiums. We are going to go out there and do our jobs and focus on baseball and let the fans cheer.