AL WILD CARD SERIES: ROYALS VS ORIOLES

October 1, 2024

Bobby Witt, Jr.

Camden Yards

Kansas City Royals

Postgame Press Conference

Kansas City Royals 1, Baltimore Orioles 0

Q. In a game that was just pitched so well, to be able to come up with that hit at the opportune time when Maikel Garcia steals second, please talk about the fact that you were able to come through like that and in a game of this magnitude.

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Yeah, as a team, we take things pitch by pitch, and that's how you've got to do it in these games because you never know when that one pitch is going to be the game-decider because in a game like this between the two teams, there's probably over 300 total pitches.

You never know when this one pitch is going to matter, so you got to just stay locked in, control what we can control, and just be ready for everything. So got a great pitch to hit, Maikel had a great at-bat, stole base, and to be able to get on and do that was special.

Q. What did you see from Cole today, and just what he's done for you guys for the past year and a half? What impresses you the most about what he's been doing?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: You said it, that's what he's been doing, a year and a half, that's Cole Ragans and he just went out there and did what he normally does. He went out there and competed, threw strikes, attacked the zone and it's great playing.

It's pretty like easy playing defense behind him whenever he's throwing like that. But the whole pitching staff has been great throughout this whole year. We really wouldn't be in this situation without him, as well as the bullpen was amazing.

And as Tommy Pham says, whenever you allow the other team to score 0 runs, you have a 99.999 percent chance to win that game. I like our odds whenever we do that.

Q. Imagine you've been looking forward to delivering the game-winning hit in a playoff game your entire life. Is this what it looked like in your mind, kind of a medium velocity grounder through the hole?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Not really. I don't even know how to answer that question honestly. But yeah, this is what you dream of, being able to come out here and play, and just coming into Baltimore and doing that and just being able to -- it's pretty cool just to hear everyone booing you when you go out there and hearing the fans yelling at you, and then when you're able to get the job done and win a game, it's pretty special. It feels good. It's great to kind of get that first win out of the way.

Q. I was going to ask a similar question, but just wondering, if you had thought about, imagined, what playing in a playoff atmosphere might have been like, how would you say this matched up with that?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Yeah, it was awesome. The fans, they were loud. It was great. It's always fun being able to kind of go and play in an environment like this. And so being able to pull off a win in this environment is pretty special. Shows you what our team is made of and what we are going to keep doing. We are a relentless team and we love the moments.

Q. Did you have a thought cross your mind maybe they could have put you on with a walk? What were you preparing for?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Yeah, you can't control that. So I really don't want to put that in my head. I just have to just go up there, try to get a good pitch, take things one pitch at a time and control what I can control.

I can control if he throws me a strike and be able put a good swing on it, or if not. I just have to go up there and compete, but never really want to put that in the back of your head.

Q. What's the mood of the clubhouse been in the past hour? How has it shifted or transitioned from the high, getting off to a good start, to now shifting into the mode of Game 2 and try to finish this off?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Yeah, it doesn't change at all from pretty much this whole year. We've had a confident clubhouse. We go in there just trying to -- because you go into the clubhouse, you've got to know you're going to win a game and so you can't really think of anything other than that.

And then just know that each and every one person is in that clubhouse is prepared, and so that's kind of how we go about it, just making sure we're pre aired each and every day because that's all we can do.

Q. You are one step closer to having a postseason. How big is that hunger in the clubhouse? How much do the guys want that?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Yeah, gives me the chills kind of thinking about it. Hearing the crowd here, I can't imagine it at the K. Definitely it's a goal, a hundred percent. That's what a we wanted to do, and last off season, that's what we went into the last off-season about, that we wanted to bring October baseball back to Kansas City.

We are going to try to keep doing that and just take things one pitch at a time.

Q. I know you're locked in but did you take a moment or two to soak in any of it in after the game?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Yeah, a hundred percent. Right after the National Anthem and looking up in the crowd, whenever they started waving their towels and everything I'm like, this is where you want to be. This is the spots you want to be in and this is what makes you a baseball player. This is what you dream of.

So it was special to take that moment, even before the first pitch, just kind of scanning the crowd and everyone, even though it was orange, it was really, really special.

Q. You got a first-pitch cutter, those first at-bats from Corbin Burnes, both of them kind of low in the zone. He threw that pitch again in the third at-bat. Was that in the back of your mind? Were you looking for that pitch? I know it's his kind of bread and butter, but was that in your head?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: I know that's a pitch he's always going to go to. That's one of his best pitches and he has a lot of success with it, so just being able to try to make sure I'm on time with whatever pitch is thrown and just being able to try to put it in play and make things happen.

Q. A lot of buildup to this one, first playoff game; was there anything that anybody said in the run-up that helped you feel calm?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: I felt calm throughout the whole entire game. I don't know, that last inning in the ninth is whenever you feel a little butterflies and stuff. It was pretty fun. It's just one of those things where it's the same game you've always played. The pitcher is 60 feet, six inches away; first base is 90 feet away; second base is another 90 feet away. It's the same game you grew up playing, and you've just got to make the most of it.

Yeah, it's going to be louder. Yeah, it's going to be bigger, whatever. But you just have to know this is the game I grew up playing, loving, and this is the game I enjoy.

Q. You mentioned the ninth inning. What kind of, I guess, encouraging words did you guys give to Erceg, and what was it like to see him fired up when he eventually got the save?

BOBBY WITT, JR.: Pretty much just be yourself. That's what we do as a team, is if everyone can go out there and be themselves and prepare the way they are, we are going to succeed more times than not.

And so whenever he's kind of able to do his things and make his pitches, he's pretty hard to hit.