MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES VS ASTROS

November 1, 2022

Kyle Tucker

Jeremy Peña

Citizens Bank Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 3 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with questions for Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Peña.

Q. Did you guys find out just now and did you have a chance to celebrate with your teammates or get told in front of the team?

KYLE TUCKER: I knew like a little while ago. But, yeah, I mean, everyone in our clubhouse is super excited about us. I know everyone's focused on today's game and trying to win the series, but it's a nice little thing before the game.

JEREMY PEÑA: It's a pretty cool moment, for sure. I mean, congratulated by our teammates and, yeah, we know the focus is the game, so we're going to enjoy this for a little bit and then get ready for the game.

Q. Jeremy, you're the first rookie shortstop in baseball history to win a Gold Glove. How does that fact kind of hit you when you hear it?

JEREMY PEÑA: So I heard that today and I was in shock because I didn't know that was a thing. But it's pretty cool. Pretty cool.

Q. Kyle, has it set in yet that you're the American League Gold Glove winner in right field?

KYLE TUCKER: Yeah. It would be nice to have this sitting in my house after the season. So, I mean, it's a really cool trophy and a really cool award. I mean, with Peña winning too is awesome. But it shows all of our hard work that we put in during the season trying to get better and help out our team to get off the field and try to put up runs offensively. But this is a pretty cool moment.

Q. Dusty said, in talking about what you did, it's all the work you put into it. Can you look back on that and the work that you put in to get this honor?

JEREMY PEÑA: Of course. I felt like this year we got a lot of good work done. Joe Espada, Omar López, they knew exactly what I had to work on to become a better defender. And, yeah, we stuck with it all year, yeah.

Q. Correa won the award at shortstop with the Astros. Have you heard from him now that you've joined that fraternity as well?

JEREMY PEÑA: I have not heard from him yet, no.

Q. Question for both of you. You guys are homegrown players drafted and developed by this Astros organization. There's a lot of homegrown guys in that locker room. What is it about this organization that helps guys get ready for this level to be successful like you guys have been?

KYLE TUCKER: One, we have really good players, and then our coaching staff in the minor leagues has really helped guys just kind of work on their craft to get ready and be prepared for when they do come up to the big leagues. So I think that's a huge part of our success.

The guys in our clubhouse have been around the game for a really long time up here and everyone's willing to help each other out to be better ballplayers overall to help out the team. So I think with the coaching staff and the players that we have in our locker room just helping each other out, just as an overall team to get better, I think it's a huge part.

Q. Kyle, you were a finalist for this award the last two years as well. What are the little things maybe that we wouldn't see that year to year you feel like you have improved at?

KYLE TUCKER: Honestly, I just try and go after every single ball that's hit in my area and try and get the ball in as fast as possible. I know how hard our pitching staff works, and I see all their stuff like in the bullpens and what they do out on the field before anyone steps onto the field, so I know how hard they're working. I know that I don't want them to be out there any longer than they have to, so I just try and get the ball in as fast as possible, go after balls just to help 'em out.

At the end of the day that will save some runs over the course of a game, so that's huge for wins and getting to this point. So I think that's all -- all I try and do is just go all out for any balls hit in my area.

Q. Myles Straw won the award for center field. Have you talked to him?

KYLE TUCKER: I talked to him a little while ago and he let me know. So it was pretty cool to have his first Gold Glove there as well, so it was an awesome moment for him as well.

Q. What is each of your's favorite defensive play you made this season?

KYLE TUCKER: Mine was probably the catch in Yankee Stadium. I thought that was kind of cool. Like, going up against the wall on Rizzo's ball. So I would probably say that. That was a pretty hard ball, well hit and everything, so I didn't know if it was going to get out or not. But that was probably my favorite.

JEREMY PEÑA: I would say my favorite play was Bregman diving for the ball, bouncing off his glove, and then barehanded throwing it to first, just because I've never done that before. So it was a new territory for me. So that was pretty cool.

Q. You guys both came up at different times, but each had a lot of guys in that locker room you came up playing with in the minors. How much has that camaraderie and those deep relationships helped on-field performance?

KYLE TUCKER: I think it helps out a lot. Our clubhouse is a huge family. Everyone is there to help out each other because we all have the same goal of winning the World Series, and to get to this point, you got to help out each other to get better and learn from little things, little mistakes, to try and prevent that from happening again later.

So I think everyone in there is willing to help out each other to try and win the game, just help each other out in general.

JEREMY PEÑA: Yeah, just building off that, but it feels like we're a family. It gives you a comfort level to know you could go up to any player and ask them for advice and you know they are looking out for you.