NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS VS DODGERS

October 20, 2024

Carlos Mendoza

Dodger Stadium

New York Mets

Postgame 6 Press Conference

Dodgers - 10, Mets - 5

Q. You guys had a lot of things go your way this season. I know it's still fresh, but what are your thoughts on your first year managing this ballclub and what you guys were able to accomplish?

CARLOS MENDOZA: First of all, congratulations to the Dodgers organization. That's a really good team. They faced a lot of adversity and now they're getting an opportunity to play in the World Series. So congrats to Dave Roberts, his coaches and his players.

As far as our team and how our year went, my first year as a manager, we faced a lot of adversity. I'm just proud of the group. I'm proud of everyone in that room, whether it's coaches, trainers, front office. And it starts with our owners, because October 20, now we're going home.

Obviously it stinks because you want to keep going. But I just told the guys how proud I was because of not only we became a really good team, we became a family. And now we raised the bar. Expectations now, you know, this is what we should strive for every year, to be playing deep into October. And we showed that this year.

I learned a lot, but the one thing is we've got great people here. And Steve, our owner, and Alex, first-class organization, and we've got great people here. I'm just proud of everyone.

Q. You guys obviously came up just short, but you showed a lot of fight this year. Is that something you can use going into next year?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, 100 percent. And it's not easy. It's not easy to come through so much adversity, but we kept finding ways to get the job done.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this series. Now we're going home. But, like I said, this should be our expectations moving forward every year, we should be playing games deep into October. But, again, proud of the whole organization.

Q. You made a point throughout the course of the year of just saying, hey, we haven't accomplished anything yet. But now that it's done and especially given the expectations of where you were, when you look back at this season, what did this group accomplish?

CARLOS MENDOZA: We faced so much adversity. Like I was telling them, and I told the group, we not only became a team, a really good team, we became a family.

And the fact that we got to play deep into October, that means a lot. And now those guys know what it takes to play meaningful games, not only in August, September and deep into October. And it's a grind.

So proud of the whole group. Faced a lot of adversity. A lot of the guys got better. A lot of the young guys came through and developed big time. Because of the way we started it and to get to this point, everybody should feel proud, understanding that our goal should be not only play deep into October, but winning the whole thing.

Q. And as someone who has been around the game a long time, been a part of some pretty good groups, where does this group of people and players rank for you?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Right at the top. I've been part of really good games with really good people. And this is right there with some of those teams. The quality of the people.

It starts with Steve and Alex and David, and it trickles all the way down. And that's our goal to be a first-class organization, on and off the field. I thought we did that.

We came up short. Like I said, our goal is to win the World Series. But I'm proud of the whole group.

Q. When you look at the Dodgers and where they are as an organization, what is it that you noticed going into this series and maybe during the series that maybe has separated them over the years?

CARLOS MENDOZA: They're deep. They're good. They faced a lot of adversity. They're missing a lot of key pieces and they're still a really good team. That's why they're advancing. You've got to be able to weather the storm and they did that as well.

When you look at the team and the whole organization, they've been doing it for a long time, year after year. And that should be our goal. Not only to be like them but better than them.

And that's not easy. We understand we've got a lot of work to do. But I think we took a really good step forward to move in that direction.

So, again, congrats to them. Really good organization from top to bottom. We've got work to do.

Q. What can you say about Vientos this season and the performance he had this postseason?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, when I'm talking about some of our younger players and the way they develop, he's right there at the top. It wasn't easy for him. Had to fight for an opportunity. He finally got it and ran with it.

And when you look at the numbers in the regular season, he's a big part, a big reason why we got to this point and then the playoff. And the performance he had, unbelievable.

Like I said, proud of him. It wasn't easy for him. And he kept working. So really good first year for him, but now he's set the bar high, too.