AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS VS ORIOLES

October 9, 2023

Chris Young

Globe Life Field

Texas Rangers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. You were a player when the Rangers were in the playoffs during their best years. As a kid, what do you remember about this town and Rangers playoffs?

CHRIS YOUNG: Well, I just remember seeing everybody wearing red and the Texas T and the pride in the community and just how special it was for our fans. Certainly excited to relive that. I skipped maybe a generation when I was playing playoff baseball, and here we are again. Thrilled for our organization and especially for our fans, who have waited a while for this.

Q. So do you expect the fans to really show up here for this series starting tomorrow?

CHRIS YOUNG: Oh, absolutely. I think we've got wonderful fans and they've supported us all season long. The attendance numbers speak for themselves. This is what they've waited for. I have no doubt they'll be here in full support.

Q. Knowing this stadium did host the World Series in 2020, does that make this even, I guess, a little more special, just knowing that it's finally your team playing playoff baseball?

CHRIS YOUNG: I really haven't thought much about 2020. I just know this is a new building. It's a new era of Rangers baseball. Now to have a playoff game at home, I'm super excited for our fans. This is what I've envisioned so many times when I've walked in there and just looked around. Just to have a packed house full of 40,000 fans rocking and cheering on their home team, I think it's just great for our community.

Q. After you just said you hadn't thought about 2020, I'm going to ask you a question about 2020. Clearly, you were in a different role back then. What do you recall about that and how different everything was and how the building played into it and the excitement of playing here?

CHRIS YOUNG: Most importantly, reflecting back, how special it was in a pandemic to be able to host the best event in sports, the World Series and certainly what the city of Arlington and the Texas Rangers did at the time to make that happen. Of course, Major League Baseball, so many people came together, the Players Association, the owners, the league, the TV broadcast. Everybody came together to give people entertainment at a time it was desperately needed.

To me, that's what I recall about that. So many people worked to make it happen.

Q. Were you surprised how well it came together? It may not have seemed that way behind the scenes.

CHRIS YOUNG: Took a lot of effort by a number of people to get there. But, no, because I think everybody knew our country needed it.

Q. Has there been a decision made, roof open, roof closed?

CHRIS YOUNG: That's a Major League Baseball decision. Our stadium ops group will be in the touch with the officials of Major League Baseball to decide that. Weather will dictate most of that.

Q. We've peppered you guys with relentless bullpen questions for 162 games. It's been a lot of bend, don't break, during the season. What do you see from the entire group?

CHRIS YOUNG: That's true of most bullpens. They've been a resilient bunch. They've been ready and prepared. They've taken the ball and they've gone out and done a very good job. I think that goes back to really the last few series.

As I've said before, they're all very capable. They've all had stretches at different points of the season where they've thrown the ball well and my hope is that they continue to pitch well collectively for the remainder of the season.

Q. I think there was a point at one time where stats showed that the ball carried better here when the roof is closed, as opposed to being open. Do you know if that is the case? Do you know if your players prefer it to be open or closed?

CHRIS YOUNG: I thought it was the opposite. So, yeah, you may be correcting me. But really, both teams are playing the same ballpark, roof open, roof closed, same conditions. I always said as a starting pitcher, my job was to be one run better than the other team. Ultimately, that's all that matters. That's the way we look at it. Whatever the conditions are, our job is to go out and find a way to win.

Q. Certainly no team wants to go through the injuries you guys did this year. What was it like for you to be constantly plugging holes in the dike? And then beyond that, do you feel like you guys are actually now seeing the benefit of players having to come up and fill in those gaps and now they're playing well in the postseason?

CHRIS YOUNG: Really, as I reflect back to a year ago and where we were in the 40-man roster and the depth or lack thereof on the roster, this year we were much better positioned to absorb some of the injuries that occurred over the course of the season. A number of players have played significant roles, stepped up at key points in the season when we've lost some of our regulars.

So every team goes through it. It's nothing unique to our team. For me, it's part of the job. I expect it. When we came into the season, I by no means expected the team we left Spring Training with to be our 26 players throughout the entire year. And it's part of it. But when you have a very deep roster, it allows you to plug some of the holes.

And Boch and the coaching staff did a great job of putting these guys in the best position to succeed and the players themselves, you know, over the course of the year, being able to earn those opportunities, that's what has gotten us to where we are.

Q. When did you guys realize that Evans Carter was this guy? This calm, 21-year-old who very good at baseball but doesn't let anybody bother him.

CHRIS YOUNG: He's only been 21 a few weeks. When we drafted him -- it was before I got here -- but from the day I've walked in, I've heard about Evan's makeup. Just the person and the character. Those are attributes that will likely serve you well if you continue to progress from a talent standpoint.

Certainly, Evan has the talent to go with those intangibles which have allowed him to come on to this stage at such an early age and perform. Until a player does it, you never know how they'll respond. You see a lot of guys come up and they'll struggle for a period of time, and they go up and down and eventually figure it out. Some guys come right in and do great the way Evan has.

You never know what you're going to get until they get the opportunity. But is it surprising, given the personality and the maturity? No. I think when you have that level of maturity and the way he plays the game and the passion and the work ethic, I think that he's put himself in a great position to be successful, and he's seizing that opportunity.

Q. CY, when you guys looked at the lineup before the year or the guys who could be in the lineup, did you envision a group that would work counts and get on base the way that they have or was that sort of a surprise? Maybe not surprise. Just not something you necessarily expected the way it unfolded?

CHRIS YOUNG: I think some of that is targeting specific types of players in terms of what we want to be as an offensive identity. Last year, we felt like we were a pretty good offense, but there were things we needed to shore up a little bit.

I think one is just getting Josh Jung and Mitch back, we thought would immediately help our offensive performance. But also, continuing what a Donnie Ecker and Tim Hyres and Cody Atkinson and our offensive program throughout the system. It's continued into player development, our draft strategy. There are certain types of characteristics and a profile that we want, and I think that trying to create that top to bottom, bottom to top, allows for continuity and allows us to win games.

Q. Not nearly as serious, do you have a favored Creed song? That's become a big thing.

CHRIS YOUNG: Whatever they're playing in the clubhouse, that's mine.

Q. Chris, number one, what does it mean to have Mike Maddux as your pitching coach?

CHRIS YOUNG: He's been phenomenal. Pitchers love him. He's done a great job. Similar to Boch, one of the things Mike does best is instill a conviction of belief in the guys. He works as hard as anybody I've seen in the game. You know when our guys go out there, they've prepared. Mike demands that. Just brings out the best in them.

So we've certainly had some ups and downs over the course of the year, but Mike has done a tremendous job. With the injuries we've had on the staff as well, we've found ways to kind of fill those gaps and he's just been wonderful. It's been fun working with him.

Q. And then the off-season, the Rangers signed Semien and Corey Seager. There were a lot of good shortstops on the market. What does it mean to see how those two guys have lived up to their ability?

CHRIS YOUNG: They've been everything we could have expected. They've been wonderful in terms of the performance on the field, but also the leadership and the roles that they've played behind the scenes, which we get to see on a daily basis. And the expectation to win, the way they come to the ballpark every day with a focus and a work ethic that they want to win.

They're competitive by nature, and they're different personalities but yet they still want the same common goal, which is to win. It really is -- I think about that too. They came here at a time at which we'd lost 100 games and they had no fear of what we were building here. Now after one season, year two for them, to be here and be part of a playoff team, really I have a lot of gratitude to those guys for believing in us and wanting to be here.

Q. You've obviously known Bruce Bochy for a long time. Is he a better manager now than he was way back when? What have you noticed maybe in this time around where he's improved?

CHRIS YOUNG: Yes, I think he is and that's why he's still successful at managing. He's evolved. I can't give specific examples. I thought he was a great manager in 2006 when I played for him. But the game has changed immensely since then. To see Boch keeping up with that and absorbing information and, you know, the staffs are bigger, the front offices are bigger, the influence of R&D is significant.

I mean, there's so much to manage. The scope of the job is immensely bigger than when I played for him in '06. Certainly, you know, he managed through '19 and got to evolve then too. But to see him just step right in and be able to handle this. Rules have changed since then. There's a lot that's changed in that time period. But he's a great manager because he's continued to grow and evolve and be open-minded.

I think when we hired him, a lot of people asked about an old-school manager. I feel the exact opposite. I think that if you're stuck in your ways, you don't last. And these old managers who have lasted last because they evolve and they're open-minded and they grow. I think that's an important attribute to recognize with Boch. He's been wonderful. I absolutely love working with him.

Q. When you signed Seager, he was a really good player. He's taken it up a notch now. Do you feel like you got a real bargain in what you paid for?

CHRIS YOUNG: Ask Ray that one. What he's meant to our organization, it's hard to quantify in terms of the performance on the field, but also attracting other players to want to be Texas Rangers, to buy into our vision. And to say as a competitor that I'm not afraid of where you guys have been, but I want to be part of the solution moving forward. It just means so much.

I think it speaks to Corey and Marcus and all the other players who signed off here. There's a financial component that contributed to that. But ultimately, these guys are competitors and they want to win. Having no fear to come here and be part of this is pretty special. I think it speaks to who they are. Certainly, it seems to have worked out to this point.