AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RANGERS VS ASTROS

October 15, 2023

Kyle Tucker

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. What have you learned about Dusty Baker and the way he manages and communicates with his players?

KYLE TUCKER: Dusty wants what's best for us, tries his best at managing throughout the season, off days, how the guys are playing, how they're feeling. He's pretty personable and open with us about stuff like that and just tries to do his best with his side of the job and managing workloads on guys and just the lineups and everything.

He's been with us for a couple of years now, so we trust him and go with whatever he says.

Q. Yesterday I asked Justin Verlander about the deep runs that you guys have had, and you've been a part of a couple of those. The focus and the mental side as well as the physical side that it takes to grind out eight months, including October, high-pressure baseball, into November. What's the key? He said that the leadership in the clubhouse is very important, and I was wondering how you deal with it personally and if you could say who some of those leaders are that keep that focus there?

KYLE TUCKER: I mean, yeah, we play a lot of games in this league. It's kind of tough and it's a grind every single day coming to the ballpark and making sure you get your work in and going out for the game and staying as healthy as possible and going out and performing.

If you've been in the league a little bit, you kind of lean on the older guys that have been here for a little while and know what they've been doing for a while and been in situations like this, like J.V., Brantley, Maldy, Altuve, there's a bunch of guys that have been there, done that, and know what it takes to get through a regular season and get to the postseason and have continued success all the way through.

If you're ever struggling or anything, there's plenty of guys in the clubhouse you can go to.

Q. Your ability to hit lefties as a lefty, is there something in your past that taught you to do that? Give us an idea of why you're able to do this.

KYLE TUCKER: I mean, I don't know if there's any one specific thing. The thing I always go to is just growing up playing with my brother in the backyard, wiffle ball. Just him being a lefty, he has pitched and I hit, and I think that played into it a little bit.

But I never care whether I'm facing a lefty or righty in the box; I just go out and compete and try to do my best and see what happens. I don't think there's any like one secret to success, but I think that's probably something that's definitely helped me.

Q. Is it a positive or a negative playing against this team that you know so well? How do you handle that because you guys both -- you don't have to do a lot of studying, you know each other going into the series?

KYLE TUCKER: Obviously being in the same division we play each other a couple of times and we're pretty familiar with each other. We haven't played them in a little while. And I know they have a couple of different guys on the team now.

But throughout the whole season, they've been a really strong team, they have good offense, pitching, and play defense well. I'm sure it's going to be an exciting game and exciting series. We've got to come out and stay focused and control what we can.

Q. 9-4 against them this season in the regular season. Does that matter to you now? Will that help you?

KYLE TUCKER: It doesn't really matter at this point. The series is 0-0 right now. We have to go and come out tonight and try to win a series against a really good team.

Q. While the record didn't matter in the regular season, you guys have been here before. Can you talk about how that helps and, if it does at all, how this year is different?

KYLE TUCKER: Every year is a little different, a little special. The team is not always the same year in and year out, a couple of changes here and there. But it's special, nonetheless.

And I know we've been here before, but it doesn't make it any easier. You've still got to come out and put up a lot of runs and play defense well and pitch well and try to control the game when you can.

It's been good for us the past couple of years, but this is a new year, and you've got to come out and compete against really good ball clubs and win as many as possible.

Q. Do up change up the clubhouse playlist for postseason?

KYLE TUCKER: I just throw on whatever. Kind of just whatever I feel like I haven't played in a while I kind of throw out. I mean, guys change it all the time. Breggie tries to take over every now and then whenever he wants, but it's all good.

Q. You noted being comfortable against left-handers. Is having both you and Yordan in that position, does it help to make it extra dangerous for opposing pitching staffs?

KYLE TUCKER: I think our team is pretty solid throughout the lineup. I know there's some guys that hit righties or lefties better. But overall I think we're pretty evenly lethal as a lineup overall.

But it's nice having basically one through nine hit righties and lefties where you don't really have pitchers get very comfortable for like the time throughout the lineup. So I think just having that kind of makes them a little more uncomfortable, just if we're going offensively well.