AL WILD CARD SERIES: ROYALS VS ORIOLES

October 2, 2024

Cedric Mullins

Camden Yards

Baltimore Orioles

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Brandon Hyde said in tough moments throughout the season he's looking to guys like you and Anthony to lead the clubhouse. You've been there before, big moments and bad moments. After a game like yesterday, what sort of things are being said between the guys to get those bats going?

CEDRIC MULLINS: Yeah, I'd say for the most part, it's continuing to stick with the plan that we come up with for whatever pitcher we're facing.

Yesterday didn't go our way, but we knew that we were in the game the entire time, thanks to Burnesy doing his thing out there. Continuing to try to not put pressure on ourselves and kind of keep that confidence that we had at the beginning of the season rolling into today.

Q. We just talked to Hyde and Cowser. They both seemed loose and they were joking throughout the interviews. Is the vibe in the clubhouse, would you say, loose right now? How do you feel like the guys are carrying themselves right now?

CEDRIC MULLINS: Yeah, I'd still say it's pretty loose for the guys in there. Relaxing, preparing for the day, a couple guys playing pool. If Cowser wasn't joking I'd find that concerning, honestly, so it's good to see him continuing to be himself.

Q. You didn't have a great October last year. I know you were beat up and there were some other factors going into that, but for you to start this postseason with a couple hits, a couple good at-bats yesterday, how much do you think that can help you moving forward?

CEDRIC MULLINS: It's great. Like you said, last year, bit of a struggle. Also first-time experience in the postseason, so I know there was a lot of factors involved there.

But just really feeling as if I'm continuing to play like I am the second half, just really focusing on keeping things simple, just playing my game.

Q. You've been here before last year in the postseason. How much does last year's experience help you today and beyond?

CEDRIC MULLINS: I think it's made a big difference in terms of approach and mindset, just knowing and understanding the game is the exact same. We've got to go do the same stuff we've done for 162 games, and in my mind this is 164.

It's a fresh start in terms of you look up and everyone starts at zero like it's the beginning of the season. But we've played a full year, so at this point it's just continuing to do what we've always done.

Q. I'm curious how you've seen Santander evolve over the years to the point that he's now hitting 40 plus homers and in the heart of a really good lineup?

CEDRIC MULLINS: Yeah, watching him grow as a hitter over the years has been amazing to watch. He's a really smart dude, really comes up with an approach that works every single day, and something that's not easy to copy, either.

I've talked to him about his approach and how he goes about his business, and not necessarily recommend it for everybody, it's somewhat unique, but it works for him, and it's good to see him find that.

Q. You said when this team clinched that the losing that you guys had experienced down the stretch was not the light that this team had experienced in years past throughout the rebuild. How do you feel like this year's team has responded to losing, and how does that kind of give you confidence in what it can do today?

CEDRIC MULLINS: Yeah, I think we responded pretty well. To go into those last couple series on a high note I think was huge for this moment when I feel like our backs are up against the wall, knowing that we have to pull out a win.

In terms of the mindset, I think it's really good amongst the clubhouse, and obviously guys like me and Tony and some of the other guys are going to continue to push on, staying relaxed and staying loose out there.

Q. What has Zach Eflin shown you so far and how confident are you that he's the guy with the ball today?

CEDRIC MULLINS: My confidence in him is really high. He came over and did amazing, got off to a great start. I think he might have had one somewhat bad outing since he's been here, so my confidence in him is really high. I guess to describe him, consistent; goes out there, gives you exactly what you need, keeps you in games. It's up to the offense to take over.

Q. You said Tony's routine is very unique about what he does to go out preparing for games. What makes it so unique? How is it different from what you or other players typically do?

CEDRIC MULLINS: I would say more approach is different, not -- I'm not in his own head. He still does tee work and flips and things of that nature.

In the broad scheme of things it look pretty similar, but his ability to be able to hit balls that are basically all across the zone, I've watched his power grow and just his ability to stay through the ball on pitches that don't normally even get hit is just impressive.

Q. Hopefully this question grows old poorly, but last year you knew when the team lost that it would be a different looking team at some points this year. We mentioned Santander and you also have Burnes; not sure what the situation is going to be next year. Especially with Anthony, a guy who you've come up with, Austin is not here, how much when you look at that and the beginning of this rebuild to now, how much does that play into your mindset to want to keep this going this year because you don't know what next year is going to pour tend?

CEDRIC MULLINS: Yeah, I think we had that mindset during Spring Training, make it as long a run as we possibly can, just with the idea that this group that we came up with throughout the Minor Leagues might not be together and we saw Haysey get traded. We all know it's a part of the business, it does happen, but it's also been fun at the same time to grow and develop with these guys over the past few years.