WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL B - JAPAN VS AUSTRALIA

March 12, 2023

Darryl George

Tokyo Dome

Team Australia

Pregame Press Conference

Q. (No translation.)

DARRYL GEORGE: The job's not done just yet. So we are going to go out there, compete and do the best we can for the next two games and get it done.

Q. (No translation.)

DARRYL GEORGE: We are just going to stick to our approach, look for good pitches to hit just like we have been doing all tournament and in our camps leading up. Obviously Yamamoto is a very good pitcher are and so we are going to have to be on our best game in order to put our best foot forward and put a good show on for everybody.

Yamamoto, I think he's got multiple strong points. He's just a very good, well-round pitcher, good command of the zone very well. I'm happy for him that he's had such a good career here in Japan and I'm happy to see he's had so much success.

In terms of strong points, everything, you know. I think he's going to be a good challenge. I'm looking forward to it.

Q. (No translation.)

DARRYL GEORGE: We've had a lot of preparation leading into this tournament. Nilsson made sure, our head coach, Nilsson made sure that we were really prepared coming in. As a nation and as a roster and a squad, our hitting has really matured and turned a corner. A lot of the approaches that you've seen in the past have come of age, and so there's a lot of good at-bats and quality at-bats through our lineup and that makes it a tough task for the opposition pitchers.

Q. Just wondering, where does this rank, this day, this experience, of playing Japan in the Tokyo Dome rank in the life of an Australian baseball player?

DARRYL GEORGE: Playing in the Tokyo Dome against Japan is always I think the pinnacle of international sport. Japanese people are very passionate about baseball, and so coming here, seeing the other teams play before us against Japan, obviously they are very excited.

But coming back to the first question, this is just another game that we need to take care of. In terms of how we are feeling emotionally, it's the same as we felt yesterday and the day before, so we are going to be prepared.

Q. You guys are up 2-0 and it seems like spirits are pretty good in the team. Can you tell me how the team is feeling and if Tim Kennelly is the team leader, who is keeping everybody loose in the clubhouse?

DARRYL GEORGE: I think we're just quite relaxed but also quite locked in at the same time. There's that fine, happy medium.

TK is our captain, so he does keep us in line. He's very professional how he goes about his business but in terms of who keeps it loose, that's definitely a team effort on that part. There's a lot of roosters in there that like to have a laugh, and yeah, I'm happy to be one of them.