MLB WORLD SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS RANGERS

October 26, 2023

Nathan Eovaldi

Globe Life Field

Texas Rangers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. What are you feeling right now on the eve of starting Game 1 of the World Series?

NATHAN EOVALDI: Really good. Feel excited. Feel well-rested and ready to go for tomorrow.

Q. The D-backs offense has speed and they play small baseball. So how are you going to enter the game facing guys like Marte and Carroll? How are you changing up those guys?

NATHAN EOVALDI: They have speed and they're aggressive on the base paths, and they make you work out there on the mound. So try to keep the ball in the ballpark and try to prevent them from getting on base.

But you've got to make sure they're working quick on the mound and executing pitches. That's where it's nice that we've got Jonah behind the plate. He has a great arm and does a great job behind there and you don't have to be as fast as you normally need to be. But there's certain guys out there, you've got to make sure you hold them and give him a chance to throw them out.

Q. Looking back at the previous World Series, did you feel missing out on something because of the relief outing and not getting the Game 4 start? Was a World Series start a goal still to have somewhere in your mind?

NATHAN EOVALDI: Yeah, I mean, very excited for this opportunity to be able to start a game. Obviously I'm very grateful for the past experiences. Just being able to participate and get into the World Series was big. I kind of had my moment there.

But coming in, having Game 1, trying to set a tone for the team, there's a lot of pressure with that, but also a lot of excitement. But definitely ready for this opportunity to go out there, compete against a really good lineup.

Q. You've said in the past that you appreciate what your teammates said about how you kind of set them up for those two games, but you did lose the game. How much have you kind of have been waiting for this opportunity, not just start but get back in the World Series?

NATHAN EOVALDI: It's more so just getting back into the World Series. It's such an unbelievable experience and moment. That's what you play every year for. You come into Spring Training with that mindset to make it to the World Series and become World Series champions.

For us to be back here, I'm with another team -- obviously the first one was with the Red Sox -- and to be here with these guys, this group of guys, to be able to start it from the very beginning, means a lot to me. And, again, I'm very happy and thankful for this opportunity.

Q. Some pitchers will say this is just like any other start. I need to approach it that way. Others will say this is the World Series; of course, it's different. Which of those camps or perhaps different one do you fall into?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I would probably say just another start. Obviously it is the World Series. And I understand everything that's on the line. You've got to win or you go home. And you don't want to come this far just to come this far.

Being four wins away to achieve our goal, that's what we're here to do. And I'm going to treat it like any other start -- same routine, same preparation and things like that. A little more preparation, I would say, going into this one.

But it's more so trying to control the adrenaline and the emotions out there, make sure from the first pitch on I'm trying to settle in as fast as I can into the game to go out there and try to go as long as I can.

Q. Having worked with Jonah for the whole year, plus the playoffs, what have you learned about him? How do you like working with him? And what does he mean to the club, both as a receiver, offensively and also just what he brings to the clubhouse?

NATHAN EOVALDI: Jonah's been great all year. The main thing, I think, earlier on was trying to get him to be more vocal and be assertive back behind the plate. There has to be the working relationship between the starting pitcher and catcher, in my eyes, we have to bounce ideas off each other talk about how we're feeling.

With me, I have five pitches. I may not have all of them working at all times. One of the things was him figuring out which -- what were my go-to pitchers. My slider is my fifth pitch, so I don't throw it as often; we don't need to be going to it all the time.

He does a great job making adjustments during the game. He talks to me in between innings about what he's seen at the plate, what he thinks is working well for me and how to try to get other pitches involved with it.

For the team, I mean, it's rare to have a switch-hitting catcher who's able to hit from both sides the plate. He has a great arm behind there as well. Like I said, it makes it a little easier to hold the runners on base. You've got to give them a good opportunity to throw them out.

His framing, it's unbelievable, up there with the best in the game. And for me I've got to know what pitches he handles well. For me, he handles them all. He gives me that confidence that I can bounce those pitches down in the dirt and he's able to block them.

And as the season has gone on he's gotten more comfortable with the guys we have. His confidence has grown. And it's fun to see young guys having the success he's having and for the year he's having as well.

Q. We've seen in recent years a guy like Spencer Strider who has two pitches, fastball, slider. What are the benefits and advantages to having as many pitches as you do or as Merrill Kelly does or even a guy like Gallen?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I think for me I feel like it almost allows me to make a few more mistakes and get away with them, as opposed to having two pitches; they're sitting on both of them, or sitting in one area and one zone of the plate.

For me, I feel like I can locate my fastball at the top and the bottom, in and out. And then the splitter usage, it's more so reading the swings on the hitter.

A lot of the times they'll tell you what they're looking for up there. You've got to be able to recognize it and it comes down to you executing your pitches. And I like to use my curveball a lot. I've been having a lot better feel for it lately. Same with splitter. And using the cutter to get in on some of the guys and try to get some quick outs.

I think that's been one of the keys, me being able to continuously mix up my pitches has allowed me to go deeper into the ball games, whether I've allowed 20 or 40 pitches in the first two innings, kind of settle down go out there and get some quick outs and get the guys back in the dugout.

Q. You're a native Texan. You know about 2011 here, not getting it done. And then Houston wins two world championships. And fans here have been clamoring for one of them. What would it mean for you to be a part of the first potential World Series team to bring a championship?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I mean, that would mean the world. It's an amazing experience. Again, to be able to say you that were part of the first one, you kind of set the foundation for the years to come and you don't really know what will happen after that.

But for us to be able to say, hey, 2023, we were World Series champions, it means a lot and there's a lot that goes into it and a lot of weight to it.

Fans have been amazing for us all year long. We've just got to continue to go out there and play our brand of baseball and get the job done.

Q. Your specific level of competitiveness or the way you go about things, your teammates all talk about how much you invest time in them as well. Is that something you developed as a Major Leaguer or in professional baseball, or is it something you got from somewhere else?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I don't know. I feel started in high school maybe, or maybe even when we were younger, in Little League, I was fortunate to come up, like a lot of guys, like really close friends, travel ball and stuff. Then it goes into high school. After high school I was fortunate enough to be drafted.

Certain guys took me under their wings. You can't get it done by yourself. It's a team sport. There's multiple guys that are going to help contribute to the organization.

You can't win it with the 25 men that you have out there on the field. It's a whole organizational achievement. You've got to be able to rely on a lot of other people. There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes from helping other baseball players to the training staff helping you keep the body healthy, the strength coaches, massage therapist -- everybody sacrificing and doing their little bits of their job to help you go out there compete at your best.

But I try to make sure I learn from the injuries I've had in the past, how I can get better and stronger from it, help other guys try to help prevent themselves from getting injured. And whether it's the workout routines or eating right, little things like that.

But when it comes down to pitching I try to take a lot of pride in my mechanics. Again, I think you learn a lot from your past failures. And you want to try to prevent that from happening again as much as possible.

And if I see somebody else doing something that I had done in the past, I want to make sure that I try to help out and they can take it however they want, good or bad. And hopefully we learn and we continue to have the good success.

Q. How much do you think it's helped you guys that the president of baseball operations is a former player? And how has that impacted do you think he put the team together and the dynamics in the clubhouse?

NATHAN EOVALDI: You can't say enough about how great C.Y. has been for us. He understands the game. He understands his role and not overstepping it, letting the players have the clubhouse, things like that, not coming in too much. But obviously he's around and being extremely helpful with the little things.

He sees things. He's not that far out from pitching. It's nice to be able to talk to him about the little things of the game and just the little things that I think could help make us better. Been able to bounce ideas off of him. He's made adjustments and at other times he's said we're good.

So I can't thank him enough for the opportunity to come over here, especially with the way everything unfolded in the offseason, signing deGrom and Heaney, and circling back to me, giving me this opportunity to be here in this situation.

Like I said, we've got four more wins, make sure we do it.

Q. Were there ever moments after either Tommy John surgery that you wondered whether you would get back to experience moments like this? Looking back, what were the low points and how distant do they seem?

NATHAN EOVALDI: You know, there was never a doubt in my mind I'd come back and I'd be healthy. It was coming down -- I put a lot of faith and trust into everybody that I'm around. I'm not a doctor. I don't know how to do a Tommy John surgery. Obviously I'm trusting them to make sure that they do it and I'm going to do what they tell me to do to make sure I come back and I'm better.

I can put in the work. Being in one of these moments, though, you can never take it for granted. You never know what kind of team you're going to have that year, the injuries. Everybody's going to have to face the injury bug.

You're going to have to have a lot of different guys step up at the right times. I feel that's one of the reasons we're able to be here in this situation. Corey went down earlier in the year. You have Josh Smith and Zeke able to step up, fill in that role for him. We had a lot of the starting pitchers go down.

Dane was able to step up and take that position for deGrom, and everybody has been able to step up in those moments, had their moment during the season to help us get to this point. That's one of the things that means a lot for us to be able to be in this situation again, and we just have to make sure we win these next four games.