94TH MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 15, 2024

Dino Ebel

Globe Life Field

Home Run Derby Press Conference

Q. Dino, what's the most impressive part of Teoscar's performance tonight?

DINO EBEL: From the way he went about it from the beginning to the end, I could see in his eyes, it was in there. Coming into this, he asked me, Would you throw to me in the derby? I didn't hesitate. It's always an honor for myself when asked to do it.

I could see in his eyes, if we got past the first round, he said, We're going to do this thing.

I said, That's what we came here for.

He's a great person. It's never about me. I feel uncomfortable up here tonight. It's always about the guy that's in the derby. But so happy for him and his family. What a great person.

To see the joy, that's why I do it. I stay back and let the family enjoy the moment, and I had the chills. So it was impressive.

Q. How seriously was he -- I mean, it seemed like he was pretty focused at the end of some of the rounds, like almost frustrated he didn't hit more. How did he approach it? When he went on the stretches at the end in some of the timed rounds when he locked in, what changed there?

DINO EBEL: The key was -- I don't know if you saw, but when he dropped his shoulders, that's when I tried to throw. He told me the first round he kind of wanted it middle up. I tried to get there. After we advanced, he said, Dino throw it down the middle and let me do my thing.

The key for me was watching the shoulders. I know the clock's run, the ball's set.

By the way, I like the way they did this. This is my fourth one. For me, it's best for the players because in the past they get gassed out and they're tired. I think the way they did this was great.

I was just watching him. He told me, When I drop my shoulders, put it down the middle and let me launch it.

That was our goal.

Q. How does a guy with a spin like you handle the pressure to be in this kind of (indiscernible), and were the pitches in the right location where you want to throw it?

DINO EBEL: I don't call it really pressure. I do this every day. That's my job. I always joke around with the players. My job is to get lit up in batting practice. I just got to know, you know, where they like it.

And I'm not perfect. I'm going to throw some balls. I threw some balls down and away. He's a trooper, man. This guy, he believed in himself. I believed in him.

He just showed it to the world tonight that when it counted, he showed up. And so proud of him and so happy for the Dodger organization, for the first one, because there's been some heavy hitters in this organization.

But special moment. I'm still ectatic. Just watching the family for me was the best part with Teo raising that trophy up. It was good.

Q. James Russell was saying every time he didn't throw a pitch down the middle, he got frustrated with himself and said he got to groove this next one. When you didn't throw a perfect pitch, did you feel like the pressure was on you a little bit?

DINO EBEL: Not really. I just felt, again, I know nobody's going to be perfect in these type of events. But you just try to throw it where they like it. Maybe because I've been doing this for a long time, when the clock's not running, you can waste a pitch. It doesn't matter, like when it was in overtime and you get the three outs.

But I was confident. I don't consider it ever pressure. I enjoy throwing batting practice every day. And I throw to Teo. I know where he likes it. And tonight, you know, we won the derby.

Q. Dino, it seems like Teo has brought joy and exuberance to the Dodgers this year. How cool was it to see that displayed for the whole baseball world tonight?

DINO EBEL: Oh, it's awesome. When we signed him, I was so thrilled because met him in Spring Training. Knew who he was, a right-handed presence in the back. I said to him in Spring Training, I said, There's going to be a lot of Dodger fans loving you. And when you're in the outfield, they'll be chanting your name. He shows up every night.

This guy, tremendously strong, quick to the ball. He's got power to off fields. One of the nicest, greatest guys I've met in my career in the game. He's always got a smile on his face. First one there, last to leave. Works hard. So awesome for the Dodgers and for Teo and his family.

Q. Dino, when you were sitting there with Teoscar watching Bohm and Witt hit, what was going through your mind just watching him sit there, watching them, you know, get close to tying and possibly beating him?

DINO EBEL: I could see a little bit, you know, like not, you know, getting -- he was excited. I was more watching the family. That's the joy I get out of it. His wife was next to him and his kids were running around.

You can see his guys around him, his buddies, Osuna was right there with him. He had a smile on his face. He came out in that last round and, you know, he showed up. And it was fun for me to sit back.

I kind of sat back behind the chair and watched him, and he was excited. You could see it. When he stood up and when that ball went up in the air, I looked at him. He thought, like he said, that ball was going to go out. What a moment when he stood up and raised his hands. I kind of looked up to his family and they were jumping up in joy. That's the thrill I get out of it.

Q. Dino, you said you've done this before. You've thrown to winners before. This is a guy who has never been in a derby. How do you explain how comfortable he was in the moment and what makes him special in these moments?

DINO EBEL: His calmness. That's what he brings. I always say the bright lights, it's never bright for him. He knows how to slow the game down. He knows how to slow himself down. Just in this last series in Detroit, we kind of had a little practice, a couple days of practice rounds.

And I saw it and just knew -- I saw that in Vlad, Senior, Guerrero, in 2007 when we won in San Francisco. I threw to Pujols in '15 and Joc Pederson in '19. Tonight, when we got to the finals, I knew he was going to show up, and he did. So that's Teo. That's what he does.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks a lot.

DINO EBEL: Thank you.