AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS VS ASTROS

October 9, 2023

Rocco Baldelli

Target Field

Minnesota Twins

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Not a new subject, but are you a little amazed that Carlos has been able to do this again? He's 8 for 15 in the postseason. He's already made a handful of great defensive plays. What you expected or even exceeding expectations?

ROCCO BALDELLI: I would say that this is exactly what Carlos Correa is here to do. He was brought here to do these things. These are pretty extraordinary things, but this is why we wanted him. This is why we brought him in, and he's doing exactly what he's done before.

This is not the first time he's done things like this. He's not finished yet, and that's kind of the way I look at it.

Q. What do you think Kep and Polo have been to this organization for 14 years now?

ROCCO BALDELLI: It's been that long, huh? I mean, they've seen so many different versions of the club. They've had a lot of teammates, staff members. They've seen a whole lot. And they're still playing great.

They are kind of a humble duo in some ways. They never get that -- you know, when you spend a long time in a certain place, there's not an iota of that entitledness that can come sometimes when you've been in a place. We've all probably felt these feelings before when you get super comfortable in a spot.

They're still working every day. They still handle their responsibilities exceptionally well. And they're still productive Big Leaguers and playoff-caliber performers.

I like writing them in the lineup. I have since the day I got here, and hopefully I get to continue to do so. They're still doing a nice job. They have some nice seasons going and more to come.

Q. Any extra meaning in this experience for them considering that history?

ROCCO BALDELLI: I'm sure it means a helluva lot to both of them. I'd like to listen to their quotes on it. If you get a chance to ask them about it. They're relishing this, I'm sure, in a lot of ways, and having a good time while winning in games.

Q. Rocco, have you guys settled on your Game 4 starter yet, or is there anything that can happen tomorrow that will change that?

ROCCO BALDELLI: We'll announce it tomorrow. We'll get through the game tomorrow. Maybe before the game, I'm not sure exactly, but we're still going to chat a little bit about a few things and then announce.

Q. Rocco, as you kind of reflect on the crowd from the Wild Card series, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of that experience? And how big of an advantage could that be now that it's 2 of 3 at home?

ROCCO BALDELLI: It's like having another player. Our crowd gave us the upper hand, is what they did. The players still have to go out and perform, but the crowd put the players in position to go out there and play great and succeed.

You know what, we're going to have them again out there. They're going to be ready. We know they're going to be ready. We've seen what it can look like. I think our crowd and all of our fans, I think they've gotten a taste of what they're capable of too. I bet there's a lot of people that can't wait to get to the ballpark to be a part of it again.

Q. Rocco, how advantageous is the situation just with the next two at home, best of three, and you know you've got Pablo for a Game 5 if need be and you've got Sonny going tomorrow?

ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, I truly believe, especially when playing against really good teams and really good competition in playoff environments, I really don't like to look ahead too much. I don't really want to look ahead to Game 4, Game 5 at all. I think one thing that has helped us big time has been just worrying about the next game. Just worry about planning, game planning, preparing physically, mentally.

Our players and our staff have done a good job of that, and I think it's kept us grounded and ready to go. Every win you get at this time of the year is important. If you can grab a win in the most recent game, it sets you up going forward in one way, shape, or form.

I'm not going to look too far ahead and place too much on it at this point.

Q. Rocco, going back to Carlos and what he means, can a player be like that that kind of puts confidence in the rest of the players, showing them this is how it can be done? Every time he's on base, he's looking at the dugout, encouraging them, and trying to bring everybody along with him. Is there something to that?

ROCCO BALDELLI: He's been doing that since the first day he showed up here. A lot of people are recognizing it now and getting to see it because we are playing in the playoffs. These are big games. Everybody is watching. He's elevating his play and the team's play in this situation.

But he's spoke about this and prepared for this his whole career, and also with our group since the day he showed up last year. He has, and he was very serious about it. We talked endlessly about the first day Carlos Correa showed up in our locker room. That was in Ft. Myers. He came in. The second he got there, it wasn't about hugs and dropping his equipment off and laughing and all that stuff. He could have cared less about that.

He was getting to business the first moment he walked in the clubhouse, and guys were like whoa, like this guy is about being great. He has no interest in being good or really good or having a good year and being satisfied with that. He has zero interest in that, and I think that feeling of only aping for just greatness, he's rubbed that off on everyone, including myself.

So I give him credit. There's very few people that conduct themselves like that in everything that they do, but that's him. That's the guy, and that's what he's meant to us.

Q. I think Jhoan said last week in Game 1 that he needed a little breather when Pete came out, the crowd was getting him amped up. Game 2 he had a cut on his finger. Last night he gets the road environment. What do you think of the way he's handled those different situations?

ROCCO BALDELLI: He's been great. He adapts very well to new environments, even higher pressure environments. I've been really impressed with the way he's really dialed it in in the playoffs, these games. Command-wise, off-speed command specifically, and coming in and not taking too long to find what he's looking for. He's adjusted very quickly to the highest of pressure environments.

So his ability to go out there and do his job and shut the door on these games is extraordinarily important to what we're doing. We've relied on him, and we're going to continue to do so in every way.

He's still young -- we talk about it, who he is, how old he is, where he's at in his career, all those things. You set all this aside, and eventually it comes down to you getting it done or not getting it done, and this guy keeps doing it.

Q. What did you think of Royce, the effort of running the bases last night? He kept telling us, you have to ask Rocco. You have to ask Rocco. Is there any chance we'd see him playing third base this week?

ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, there's a chance we'll see him playing third base this week. It's not going to be tomorrow, though. We have to figure out some things on the medical side and have some conversations. I don't know. I honestly don't know.

He does look significantly better than he did seven days ago, about a week ago. That's great news for us. Enough where we watched him go -- what did he do? He's going first and third. We put a safety on him at third base. There's different things that he's capable of right now. He can help us on the bases. Before, at the beginning of this playoff schedule, he probably wasn't going to be helping us too much on the bases. He was just going to be cruising speed, I think I said before. He's improving. So we'll take that.

Q. From last night, kind of near identical situations, Farmer with the bases loaded, you let him hit, and a couple of innings later Julien pinch-hits for him. What went into that decision?

ROCCO BALDELLI: A lot. A lot. There was a lot moving in my mind really quickly at that point. It's a really big spot in the game. We need as many runs as we can score against the team we're playing against. They can strike quickly and put some runs on the board.

Also, Kyle Farmer is as good of a defender as you're going to find. As reliable and steady and cool on the field in every situation as any player in the world that you could imagine. With a lead, he is one of the few guys where it's like you really, really do not want to take this guy out of the game.

I bet all the guys in the dugout are also thinking, we don't want to take Farmer out of the game. This is the guy when you're ahead and you need to make plays.

All that said, I kind of waited and hesitated for a sec while they made a visit out to the mound and then pulled the trigger on just getting Eddie up there because Eddie I thought gave us the best chance of scoring more. Eddie went up there and had a great at-bat, and we were able to utilize our bench and get Stevenson into left field. Willi Castro is a heck of a third baseman too.

So we have options, and we decided to use our options and make that happen and get Eddie Julien to the plate.