WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL C - MEXICO VS UNITED STATES

March 12, 2023

Benji Gil

Chase Field

Team Mexico

Postgame Press Conference

Mexico - 11, USA - 5

Q. This was a great victory for the team, for you, how special is this moment for you? And what can you tell us about the action of Sandoval and Meneses?

BENJI GIL: Yes, obviously it's a very special day. It's a very special day, I can tell you, in my life and the life of every other player. They say, most of them, most people, if you would have asked them yesterday, all the experts, that tomorrow it was going to be a very complicated day for all the people that are part of the Mexican baseball.

Why? Because we're facing a team full of stars. It's Hall of Famers. They have Hall of Famers. They are Hall of Fame material. As I told you yesterday I'm a fan of baseball, and I'm a fan of, if not all of them, the majority of them.

Mike Trout. I enjoy seeing him work every day. Loup, Bobby Witt, I seen him play since he played 9 years old against my son.

And it's a very beautiful day for all of Mexico, for the tournament, I believe. And also because this team, this group is very interesting because the rest of the games in this tournament they're very interesting, and this group.

Q. Baseball sometimes it does not give you anything. You talked about this yesterday. It's a very interesting game. Well played, but the results did not occur yesterday. But now they happen and now it changes all the perspective of the Mexican team.

BENJI GIL: I will let you know yesterday I commented to the players, we played very well. We had a very good game. We can say that the ball did not bounce to our favor.

And today, there were some hits that just by a small margin, Arozarena at first base. It was fair just by a little bit. The hit for Menio (phonetic), it was safe also at first base.

And I've always said it that our players, they never let anything down. They were always with the mentality, positive mentality, always looking forward, the next goal. And baseball was for us in the first innings and we were able to capitalize on those opportunities that we had.

But also today's game, it's hard to say that it was all luck, but because all the bats that had Joey, Arozarena, Tellez and many more, they all contributed in one way or another.

The pitching was spectacular. Patrick Sandoval showed that he's a star and that he's becoming -- Assad, Javier, I could have let him pitch a little bit more. But at that time I said he did his part. There was a big margin. Let's give some other pitchers opportunities so they can participate on the field.

And it let's, first to God, that if we advance to Miami we will not underestimate Great Britain nor Canada. We need to, with the same energy next two games so that we can secure our place in Miami and we will have the services of Javier Assad in Miami as well.

Q. Do you shut mouths, is it okay to shout mouths for people that doubted on you? And everything started since the first play with Randy?

BENJI GIL: Randy, he is a motor. He's the first at-bat. He has two games with the Mexican team. He had two doubles and a single because of the way he is, his strengths. He's always willing to do more. He fills the jersey. Whoever had doubt, that doubt cannot exist anymore.

Yes, the team was -- I'm very grateful with them because of the willing, the attitude, the harmony that they have created in the space of five days together, maybe six.

But this is the fourth game. And if it happens, if we had the opportunity to be in that -- it does not feel that it's a team that's been together for four games. It's been turning, every second we have been becoming more of a family instead of a team.

Q. What does this signify for Joey Meneses? He's given you a lot of happiness in winter. And what does it mean for such a night tonight, two home runs? How does it feel since you've seen him for a lot of time?

BENJI GIL: It's not allowed to make me cry. Joey Meneses, he's not a baseball player. Sincerely, I was not in organized baseball when he was with Philadelphia. It hurt a lot that he was not brought up to Major Leagues.

It's nothing against the organization Philadelphia, but I've thought about this many times that he didn't get to come to Major Leagues because he will finish 70, 80, 90, 100 home runs that he would have less -- he will end up with less money than he would have gotten in his career because he should have been in the Major Leagues since 2018, since September.

And he has shown what we saw in the last two months of Major Leagues and last year. What he has shown right now, we saw what he's shown in Culiacan and what he's shown in the Olympics. He's a great baseball player. He's a great batter. He's very versatile for right field, left field, third base.

There was a year I asked him to play third base since he hadn't played since he was a kid. He did it very well. I repeat, I'm not talking badly about any organization, but Joey Meneses, he has the capacity to be a star in the Major League Baseball. And he has shown it to be a player that he definitely at a minimum he can bring a lot of support to a team.

Q. Mentally, your fortitude after a lot of criticism about your players. What was this meeting, what did you say, what words did you use? Does this victory help a lot for the baseball, and also a lot of lights for the baseball player, Mexico and the MLB?

BENJI GIL: Yes, this victory is not credit for me. I don't take any credit for this. Yesterday I gave them some words that I already felt in my heart that don't keep your head down, that they can make it to Miami and get far in Miami if the time comes, first God, that God helps me, that he lets me be in charge of Major League Baseball.

Yes, of course with gratitude, I would do it. I would bring a player to the team. And this victory was because of the boys, not me. They did their job in the field.

I hope that in two weeks I would be nine days, maybe nine days, I hope that I get to be called champion of the world. But it won't be because of my work. It would be because of my baseball players. I applaud them and I'm very grateful to them. Yes, I can say whatever but they have to be the ones that do it in the field.

Q. With Joey, he had a chance to stay with the Nationals, did he come just out of loyalty to you and to the country?

BENJI GIL: I know for a fact that Joey has a tremendous amount of loyalty to me. We've been through a lot. I'll say that people can say I gave him his first real opportunity in Culiacan, but I would be an idiot if I didn't give him the opportunity.

It's not what I did for him. It's just I was just less blind than others to see, not just what he can do on the baseball field, his heart. Like I said earlier in Spanish, I literally asked him to play third base a year -- we won a championship and I said, after having won a championship, I told him, hey, you're going to play third base next year. And he said absolutely; whatever you need.

That just shows his commitment to his team. He's an extraordinary person. He's a Major League talent. And I'm just happy to be somewhat associated with that type of person, that type of talent.

And it's exciting. It's exciting to see it. He's special. He's not even -- I don't think he's a power hitter. I think he's just a great hitter with power. Just as well as he hit the home runs to left field I've seen him hit home runs to right field and center field.

Q. What do you think of the bat flip?

BENJI GIL: I think just emotions took over. I'll say this, we have tremendous respect for every single player and coach on the other side. I'll be honest with you, I kind of felt like when we stole bases with the score not being tight, and I had to remind myself, hey, that was actually the right thing to do because the score matters.

If we were playing in Miami, I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have allowed for anybody to even try to steal. At the same time, it may be doesn't appear that way because we're not used to this format, but it's out of respect to the U.S. It's out of respect to the stars and the talent and the depth of the U.S. team.

Really, is there any margin that's safe in a ballpark like this with the amount of talent that's across the dugout? I don't think so. We just had to continue to play aggressively and try and create every opportunity that be possibly could.