MLB WORLD SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS RANGERS

October 26, 2023

Zac Gallen

Globe Life Field

Arizona Diamondbacks

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. When you look back on the season, what do you think the turning point was for your club?

ZAC GALLEN: I think that us coming out of that rough stretch, with giving ourselves just enough time in the season to be able to -- we had our backs against the wall -- give ourselves enough time to play the baseball that we knew we were capable of. We just kind of, all right, we're battle tested let's just see what happens.

I don't know that there was one necessarily turning point. But, yeah, right around that nine-game losing streak, sometime in August, I think, was kind of where everything shifted.

Q. What happened because of the Sewald trade, picking up Thompson, restructuring the bullpen and the bullpen diametrically pitched a lot better the second half of the season than it did the first? Isn't that a big part of it?

ZAC GALLEN: For sure. I think you saw with Paul coming over here everyone was able to kind of settle into a role. We were doing it by committee before. And I think with Paul coming over and being the anchor in the ninth inning, it kind of stabilized everything, and it was able to put guys in situations where they could succeed.

It's no secret that, however many guys are down there in the bullpen, 12 to 14, whatever we were carrying, carried us through the last month and a half of the season, and the last three weeks of the playoffs. So it's been fun to watch.

Q. Are there a lot of people in your life that can't belief the Diamondbacks are here? Or did they start to believe more recently?

ZAC GALLEN: Yeah, there's definitely a lot of people. I think that's been kind of the main theme of just, like, I can't believe it.

I don't think it's necessarily because of the team, of the guys we have in that clubhouse; it's more of the fact just as a kid, people that saw me as a kid playing Little League, and here we are, Game 1 of the World Series about to come up.

So I think it's more of, yeah, just more in that sense of just I can't believe it, it's insane, it's surreal.

Q. Going through the gauntlet that is Citizens Bank Park and your first best-of-7, do you think that's an incredible experience to be able to carry over to something that's even bigger?

ZAC GALLEN: Absolutely. I think, just like the first or the last three months of the season, we've played playoff baseball from the middle of July. We dug ourselves a pretty deep hole there. And same thing going into Citizens Bank Park, losing the first two and had our backs against the wall, it kind of seems to be the mantra of the team -- we just like to, I don't know, play with our backs against the wall.

But I'm going to venture to say that's probably 95 percent of the guys in there, this is their first seven-game series. And it was a crazy experience, for sure.

Q. Your catcher Gabriel Moreno has been good from behind the paint. What is he like from your perspective?

ZAC GALLEN: Gabby is 23, but I feel like he's 33. Just the way he's super cool, super calm, collected. The moment doesn't seem to phase him. And the talent is just off the charts.

I've kind of had a first-hand seat to see Gabby grow. I think what I saw in the beginning of the year, there was a lot of talent, for sure. And then for Gabby to kind of get over here and get a lot more comfortable, understanding how to handle a pitching staff, calling games and certain things like that has been -- I can't really describe it. It's been fascinating to watch.

And, like I say, he's 23 and he looks like he's been here for 10 years now. It's been awesome.

Q. Were you personally -- is there anything you're focused on, locked in on this week to get back to your kind of best self on the mound?

ZAC GALLEN: Yeah, obviously I think for me I said it after the two starts, just lack of execution, really. So for me, just trying to execute a little bit better and give us a chance to win, really.

No secret, I feel like I didn't help the guys that much. So I'm looking to try and pull my weight this time around.

But for me, it's really just about executing pitches. We've got only a handful of games left, so give it my all and see what happens.

Q. From a team perspective, have you thought at all in the last couple days, just about the fact where you guys were two years ago and getting to this point so quickly?

ZAC GALLEN: I try not to think about two years ago. Those are some dark times in Arizona. For me, I was injured for a good part of that year, and then as a team, it just didn't turn out the way we wanted it to.

But, yeah, it's still surreal. It kind of started to hit me a little bit on the way to the ballpark today, having the escort here, just thinking, like, 730 days ago, whatever it was, like, who would have really thought we would be here right now this soon, this quickly?

I'm just proud of the guys in the clubhouse. The guys that have walked through the dark times that we're here, and the young guys that have come up and stepped up right away and kind of inserted themselves into this success that we're having has been incredible.

Q. I know you threw well against Milwaukee and the Dodgers. Was it just a matter of a tough lineup that wasn't missing mistakes? Do you feel there were specific things you need to get back?

ZAC GALLEN: Yeah, I think it was more so -- like I felt good against Milwaukee and LA. But like you say, it's a really good lineup, yet they didn't seem to miss mistakes. I'm somebody who attacks the strike zone. I think going in they knew that. They got pitches to handle.

So with teams like that, teams that are really good, you've got to try to stay out of the middle of the plate and be a step ahead in terms of sequencing and stuff like that.

For me, it was missed execution, but sometimes you're out there and you throw a ball in the middle and you get a popup or ground ball. Didn't seem to be the case when guys like Schwarber or Harper came up.

Q. (Indiscernible) you have your work cut out for you.

ZAC GALLEN: This isn't going to be any easier of a task. This a really good lineup. This is a team we've seen, what, four times this year, I don't know how many times we've played them. But it's a really good lineup.

We didn't get a chance to see Evan Carter earlier in the year. So that's another fold that they added into the mix.

And they're playing hot, too. So it's not going to be an easy task by any means.

Q. Do you think you and the guys in the clubhouse take inspiration from all the people you hear on the air doubting you?

ZAC GALLEN: I think so. I think if you compete, if you're in any sort of competitive field and somebody tells you can't do something or they think somebody can do it better than you, I think that's kind of the main reason probably why you're where you are today.

So, yeah, I think for us, it's not necessarily -- I'm speaking for me -- I don't think it was necessarily that people thought we couldn't do it; it was just that no one expected us to be here. And it was like, we're here, we might as well see what happens.

And then, you find little things along the way that kind of just fire you up and just motivate you, really.

And we just have guys in there with quiet confidence. All right, we'll just prove you wrong; let's see what happens. We know what we can do. We had a really good first half. We know it's in there, let's see what happens.

Q. What sparked you to tweet the Phillies spring training tickets being on sale?

ZAC GALLEN: This is the only time I'm going to address that. But for me that was just growing up in that area and knowing how the Philly fans operate, I don't know, there was a lot of mentions that people in my DMs and stuff like that, I figured -- they were talking junk. So I just figured if they want to talk junk to me, I'll say one back.

And I feel like being from there, I knew how to hit them the hardest. So that was my thought. But, yeah, that's the end of that.

This is a new thing. That's over with. It's Thursday, the day before the World Series. So moving on.

Q. I feel bad because you said you didn't want to go back to 2021. But I'm curious if there's anything you can learn from being a team that loses 100 games that's valuable when you're then winning?

ZAC GALLEN: Yeah, I think, ultimately, I think it comes down to just not wanting to experience that again, is really what it comes down to.

I watched the Derek Jeter documentary, I think it was this offseason, and I remember he talked about that when they lost the World Series, I think, in '95, maybe, and he said -- I remember getting, whenever they lost in the playoffs, whatever it was -- he said, I remember getting there and not wanting to feel that ever again.

And I think if you ask a lot of guys that were here in '21 -- even '20 and '19, those years -- '22 didn't end the way we wanted it to -- and I think just, if you ask all the guys, like, you don't want to feel that feeling again.

Losing 110 games, it's not fun coming to the baseball field. It's supposed to be fun. It's a game. When your job becomes a job and it's, like, oh, we're just monotonous and we're coming to the field, I think that's a huge motivating factor, I think, for myself. And I think you'd find a similar answer for a lot of guys in there.

Q. Was there a moment this year where you realized you were having more fun?

ZAC GALLEN: Absolutely. I said last year I was having fun coming to the field. Even the start of '22, it was like, okay, we weren't playing great, but the guys in the clubhouse, there was just a different feel.

And then you just get -- the young guys started to trickle in. And they're super close because they played in the minor leagues together. There's guys here like myself, Walker, Merrill, like Josh Rojas -- guys that were here just wanted to hang out with those guys. And we became super close, closer, and wanted to do things together. This year, everyone was pulling for each other.

It was a lot more enjoyable to come to the field and spend time with those guys and you just try and go out win baseball games on top of it.

Q. Do the guys hang out more away from the ballpark when you're winning?

ZAC GALLEN: I don't know if it's different. I would venture to say you probably hang out more away from the field when you're losing because you're, like, nobody wants to -- at the field, it's like -- it's terrible when you come to the field.

But I think guys just hang out and they have things that they do.

I think it's just guys are super close when they come to the field and they want to hang out and you want to do whatever, just play cards or eat and talk junk, whatever.

Q. I wanted to ask you about how you got to the Diamondbacks. Obviously, it was an interesting trade, the hyped prospect at the time for you. And the team, ever since you've been there, despite some of the struggles, has never done the rebuild thing, they never tore it down. They kept making kind of moves aimed at winning. And it's kind of come together now. I'm curious what your perspective was when you got there of what you felt like your role was and how you've seen it evolve as more guys like you have come in?

ZAC GALLEN: It was kind of odd, honestly. I was in Miami, and I think we were on pace to lose 100 games at that time. I was just happy to be in the big leagues, really. I felt like I was having a really good year in Triple-A. I was happy to get up and finally get to the big leagues and want to be there.

I get called into the office on July 31st, and it's like, all right, you're going to Arizona. I'm like, we just played them. I don't know anything about them. I had no idea they were in the race for the Wild Card.

So I get over there to Arizona in '19 and I think I'm still just trying to stay in the big leagues. I'm not really concerned that they're in the playoffs and things like that.

So, I think, it was almost good that -- I don't want to say ignorant -- but just I had no idea what's going on, adding more pressure on myself.

'20 hits with the COVID year and '21. And '20 was a year where the front office went out and added pieces. We go out and get Bum and Starling Marte and Kole Calhoun and guys like that. And it didn't really work out.

I was encouraged, all, right, we're trying to make a run at this thing. Let's see what happens.

Then '21 doesn't work out with injuries and whatnot.

And then '22, to kind of have Haze and Fitz and Amiel, be like, we're not going into a full rebuild, we're just going to try to reload this thing and shift the mindset a little bit. He was like you'll have to be a little patient but we're not doing that.

So for me that was super encouraging, just knowing that I would be, I don't know, for lack of a better phrase, a little bit ahead of the timeline of the guys coming up.

But the plan has worked out great. I told the story in Milwaukee of playing Bobby Witt and some young guys, I'm like, where's our guy out. They told me be patient. And speaking of Corbin Carroll, he's been unbelievable.

Q. The late-game bullpen that you guys have shown lately has been awesome. What makes the Thompson-Ginkel-Sewald combo so effective for you guys?

ZAC GALLEN: I think that, I mean, ultimately those guys are fearless, really. Three of those guys are pretty -- traveled is not necessarily the word I'm looking for, but in the sense they've had their adversity as well.

You talk about Ryan Thompson gets DFAed in the middle of this year, and we pick him up. He's had adversity. Coming into the game he's unfazed by that, he's fearless.

You have Kevin Ginkel who comes up in 2019 and is looking like maybe the next closer of the Arizona Diamondbacks coming into 2020. He struggles in '20 and has some struggles in '21. And even in '23 he's down in Reno -- maybe not necessarily deserving but he was the odd man out in terms of numbers.

Another guy that has had adversity and is fearless, has found what he's done really well.

And then you have Paul Sewald. He gets traded by a playoff contender, and I know that Paul spent some time in New York before, and it was just like -- I think you see these guys with adversity that, coming into a game with runners on base in a big spot in the season, they've had some legit life adversity that trying to get outs in a baseball game to them is, like, all right, whatever. I'm going to make pitches. I know what I do well.

I'm pulling for the guys behind me. I know they're pulling for me. I'm pulling for them. Let's just see what happens and make pitches.

And like I said earlier, Paul coming in and having that ninth inning I think really stabilized everyone else in their role in the sense of, all right, Ginkel is not sure whether he's going to throw the eighth or the ninth.

No, you're the eighth inning. When this thing goes to the eighth inning, we're winning, you're pitching.

Mentally, I can't speak too much about the mental side down there in the bullpen, but I just know that having a routine and having knowing when you're going to go into the game makes your job a lot easier, for sure.