NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 15, 2022

J.T. Realmuto

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame 4 Press Conference

Phillies - 8, Braves - 3

Q. The inside-the-parker, at what point do you realize you had a shot to make it all around?

J.T. REALMUTO: I'd probably say as soon as I was rounding first base and saw that he missed it, kicked off the wall. I've actually had that exact same play happen in the same ballpark before. I knew he's a pretty fast outfielder so I was on my horse. I wasn't sure if Dusty was going to send me or not. Tried to run as hard as I could until he stopped me.

Q. This moment when you're flying home and yesterday Rhys had his moment, that one tonight, where do those moments rank for you? And what was that feeling in the ballpark and dugout when you got back?

J.T. REALMUTO: It's electric. I'm not usually a guy that shows a lot of emotion. When I slid into home, I couldn't help myself. I was so excited. Excited for this city. Excited for this team. It was one of those moments I'll definitely remember forever. And it was just a lot of fun.

Q. You have had a lot of innings this season where it's a collective effort, one hit after another. Done it in the postseason already. Once those started happening, a few hits in the row, do you have a sense of confidence and we can break this open right here?

J.T. REALMUTO: Absolutely. Hitting's all about momentum and confidence. And sometimes it takes just an 0-2, just put the ball in play, contact hit, that can spark an offense. We have a lot of guys who have a lot of power on this team.

I feel like in this postseason we've done a really good job of when we need to put the ball in play, just take your hits when you have to. And that's how offenses thrive in the postseason.

It's so hard to hit home runs against these pitchers we're facing. Everybody has got such good stuff. But our offense has done a good job of when we need it, put the ball in play, take your hit, infield single, whatever it is, just try to keep the line moving. That's what's made us be successful so far.

Q. Alvarado, lots of ups and downs. Catching him in the series, a lot of success. How good is it to step up on a stage like this, what's the difference in the second half?

J.T. REALMUTO: Just confidence. He's got so much confidence in himself right now. His stuff is just incredible. He's had unbelievable stuff all season long. You can just see it in his eyes right now. He's confident and stuff. He's going to go right at guys. He's just up there trying to throw strikes, get ahead of guys, putting guys away. He's not thinking about anything else. When he's got stuff that electric, that's a good combo.

Q. When you are running around the bases, what are you hearing? What are you thinking? Is anything actually going through your head? Are you just kind of reacting? What is that like?

J.T. REALMUTO: Honestly, all I'm thinking, I'm trying to run as fast as I can and watching Dusty, seeing if he's sending me or stopping me. As soon as I got to second base, I just tried to get my eyes on him.

Like I said, I knew, rounding first base, I would have a chance at it. It was whether he was going to send me or not. Once I saw him send me, I think I kicked it into an extra gear. It was definitely an exciting moment.

Q. You've all had your, almost to an individual, had your moment, if not just in this series, going back to the Cardinal series. Is that kind of what it takes in the postseason, guys like Marsh, Stott, you, and then obviously Harper and Hoskins, is that what it takes?

J.T. REALMUTO: Absolutely. Very rarely do you see one person be able to carry a team through a postseason. It takes a complete effort. It takes the young guys; it takes the veterans.

We talk about it of after every series. We always ask, who is the MVP of this series? Who is the reason we got here? And it's always hard to answer that question for us because so many guys contribute. There's not one person carrying the team. It's top to bottom. It's the bottom of the lineup.

You talk about Marshy and Stotter, we don't win these two games without those two the last two days. It's a collective effort, and we've done a good job top to bottom, people stepping up when they need to.

Q. Has anybody told you that you're the first catcher in postseason history to hit an inside-the-park home run?

J.T. REALMUTO: Yes, they told me right after the game. I didn't know -- once I hit it I was like, that might be never done before. I thought about it initially. But I wasn't sure. And then in the interview after the game they told me.

Q. Is it hard to grasp that you just did something that Yogi Berra never did and Johnny Bench and no catcher whoever played in a postseason game ever did?

J.T. REALMUTO: It is a little. It hasn't really sunk in yet. I'm sure not a lot of catchers hit inside-the-park homers, and I'm sure it's harder in the postseason. Like I said, it was a special moment that I'll definitely cherish forever.

Q. You've spent a whole life hearing catchers aren't supposed to be able to run, catchers aren't supposed to be able to do that. Does hitting an inside-the-park home run in that moment prove them all wrong?

J.T. REALMUTO: I'm not out there trying to prove anybody wrong, but I take pride in trying to stay as fast and as athletic as I can as a catcher. I grew up not catching, so I feel like that helps me. I don't have as much wear and tear on my body as most catchers do.

I'm trying to stay in the best shape I can be as fast as I can for as long as I can.

Q. You played against Harper and with him a lot. What were -- when you got to know him as a teammate, what did you learn about him that you didn't necessarily know when you were, like, playing against him and trying to get him out?

J.T. REALMUTO: He wants to win. There's one thing on that guy's mind at all times and it's winning a baseball game that day. He's the type of teammate, he's going to show up every day, give his all for the guys and all he cares about is winning.

You guys hear him talk. You see the actions on the field and it's real. If he goes 0-for-4, it doesn't matter to him. If the team wins that's all that matters. And that's something that all guys can hang on to, and that's what you need in the clubhouse especially this time of year.

Q. Did you know that when you played against him?

J.T. REALMUTO: No, it's tough to know that because you don't see the behind-the-scenes stuff. You don't see him in the dugout or in the clubhouse after tough losses or even after big wins.

You learn a lot about a guy, how they act in moments when they're struggling and the team's winning and vice versa, when they're doing well and the team's losing. And he's completely even keel. He's with the team whether the team's winning, he's excited; if the team's losing, he's bummed. It doesn't matter about his personal performance. And that's kind of hard to see from across the field.

Q. You talk about taking everyone to win in the playoffs, but the magnitude of these moments -- the Rhys bat spike and Brandon Marsh getting the curtain call and the inside-the-parker, do those get the venue here, something special happening here, just the electricity of those three moments in the last 24 hours?

J.T. REALMUTO: Absolutely. We feel extremely confident in ourselves right now. We love the group we have. The guys get along really well. I think it started that ninth inning in St. Louis with that comeback, that kind of sparked the feeling that we're here and we're here to stay. We feel like we can beat anybody.

Obviously every team we play on this stage is really good. But we're not short of any confidence in our clubhouse.