WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL D - VENEZUELA VS PUERTO RICO

March 12, 2023

Salvador Perez

LoanDepot Park

Team Venezuela

Postgame Press Conference

Venezuela 9, Puerto Rico 6

Q. Salvador, many people want to know this. What did you think when you hit the second double? Of course, you wanted a triple, you wanted the cycle. What did you think when you got to the base?

SALVADOR PEREZ: I was tired. I was exhausted.

It was exciting. We got a victory. We did what we could to obtain the victory. It was not an easy pool. We can not be overconfident. Anything could happen.

Q. You had one of the best offensive outputs in the history of the Classic. You are the second hitter to go 4-for-4. The other was another catcher from Puerto Rico, by the way. Your thoughts about that?

SALVADOR PEREZ: Just doing the job. Every day helping the team, helping the country. I'm very happy because of that. Greetings to Pudge, one of the persons that inspired me when I was a little boy, but I didn't know that fact. Thank God for that.

Q. Venezuela had never beaten Dominican Republic in the Classic.

SALVADOR PEREZ: You were not there? They beat us twice.

Q. I mean Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico beat us before.

SALVADOR PEREZ: How about revenge. But that's baseball. We lost before, but 2017 was the last, and that's in the past. That was five, six years ago. Now we have to be focused on this year's Classic. We are going to continue working and fighting.

Q. This is your third Classic. The catcher has a defensive responsibility that with, no doubt in this classic you also have an offensive responsibility because you earned this with your development and with everything that you have done recently. How do you deal with that? You are part of a team. You maybe are the most important or one of the most important players on the team. If Salvador does well today, then Venezuela will go well today. How do you deal with that?

SALVADOR PEREZ: First of all, when I catch, I'm focused on catching. Trying to call good pitches. When I'm at bat, I'm thinking about hitting. Then after the at-bat as a hitter, I go back to catching.

Thank God I have this responsibility on offense, but I have the responsibility as a catcher to face a lineup of the Puerto Ricans and Dominicans ones. It's not an easy task.

Pablo Lopez and the pitchers did a great job today, but there are no limits for you, you know? You go out to compete when you wear your uniform. This one is a very special one because you're representing your country, and it's very exciting. We celebrate even the bunts, but this is part of baseball.

Q. You just said that you tried to separate the offense from defense. You have been playing in two Classics, in two World Series, but we have seen that you have celebrated with a lot of excitement every strikeout, even in special situations. Is there anything special in this Classic?

SALVADOR PEREZ: All the Classics for me are special. I've said that before. All the teams want to win in this Classic, and it is a lie if I tell you we don't want to win. No, all the teams are trying to win. We are trying to reach that goal to get to the final, to win the championship, and to offer some joy to your country.

These are exciting situations we are living. The game yesterday was great, but we have to pay attention to the details. This is a short tournament. Only seven games, and everything matters. One pitch, anything. If you run, if you didn't run. Anything could define who loses or wins a match. That's why you have to do our best all the time.

Q. It's been a while since you played in big, important games. What is it about them that brings the best out in you?

SALVADOR PEREZ: Everybody knows that I love to play baseball. I like to have fun. I work hard for a situation like the last two games. I thank God, you know, to keep me healthy. Hopefully Kansas City can make it again to the playoffs pretty soon. Now we're here, so we're going to try our best. We're going to keep playing hard and see what happens after the last out.