MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES VS ASTROS

October 28, 2022

Chas McCormick

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 1 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Chas McCormick.

Q. You're a big Wawa fan and what's your go-to Wawa order?

CHAS MCCORMICK: Yes, I'm a huge Wawa fan. My go-to, there's two, meatball sub or I'm a big Buffalo chicken cheesesteak guy.

Q. Was playing in a World Series last year any different than what you thought it would be?

CHAS MCCORMICK: No, not really. Last year I think just because it was my rookie year everything was going so fast and kind of on cloud 9. This year I feel like I have a little more experience. But it's the same thing. It's loud. It's crazy. But you just got to enjoy the pressure. It's fun.

Q. Obviously this is a big week for you and your family. Personally, have you had to maybe set a point to shut off the phone? Is it before BP? Maybe kind of take us through what this has been like emotionally and if there's a barrier.

CHAS MCCORMICK: Yeah, yeah. It's been pretty crazy. My phone's been blowing up for the past couple days. But, yeah, I mean, the minute I got to the field today I kind of turned the phone off. Just got to be focused all day today.

Yeah, it's been crazy. It's been crazy for my family just with all the interviews and mics and cameras. Even yesterday there was so many people still asking if they could interview my family, and I said, of course.

But definitely been a lot for my girlfriend and I. I told her, I was like, It's going to be a lot. It's going to be a lot, a lot of stuff going on the past couple days, but you got to stay strong and we just got to focus on our goal.

Q. Do you and your twin brother ever get confused for each other and do you ever have any times where you do that on purpose and try to trick people?

CHAS MCCORMICK: No, not really, but we have, in elementary school we wanted to do an April Fools' joke, so we actually switched classes and our teachers had no idea. Thought that was pretty funny. Other than that, not really.

Q. From what you can tell from afar where would you rate this Philly level of insanity with regard to this run compared to, say, the Phillies back in the day or when the Eagles made it or the Sixers make a run?

CHAS MCCORMICK: Well, since I'm actually playing in the World Series, this is as crazy as it could get. 2008 I was about 12, 13 years old, so I kind of didn't know what was going on. I was just a huge Phillies fan at that time. The Eagles, Super Bowl, I was a little older. I think that was 2017 or 2018. So that was pretty crazy as well, just watching the Eagles win the Super Bowl and how they lot their quarterback and Nick Foals kind of drove them to the promised land.

But, yeah, this one, this World Series this year playing against the Phillies, being able to play, it's pretty surreal.

Q. Where is your brother at emotionally?

CHAS MCCORMICK: Which one?

Q. Your twin brother.

CHAS MCCORMICK: My twin brother? I mean, I don't think he likes the spotlight that much. He's a little shy. All my brothers are excited for me and proud of me.

Q. What do you think is the most underrated part of the Astros on-field wise right now from what you're seeing? There's a lot of talk about, say, pitching and run prevention, but anything that stands out that maybe we don't know about with Houston?

CHAS MCCORMICK: Yeah, I think we have some of the best pitchers in the world. I think that's kind of our best attribute to the team.

I think what's underrated is our defense. Even Correa last year talked a lot about defense and kind of drilled in my head how important it was, and this year we haven't lost a step. I think Peña has done great job in that, filling those shoes. Yes, I would say our defense is probably the most underrated.

Q. Can you talk about the importance of winning the first game of the World Series, especially given the history of the Astros in the past four World Series?

CHAS MCCORMICK: Yeah, I mean, Game 1 of a series is ginormous. Yeah, I think a couple years we've struggled to win Game 1 of the World Series. But that's in the past. I think if we just focus on the present moment I think we can get it done.