MLB WORLD SERIES: METS v YANKEES

October 21, 2000

Bobby Valentine

BOBBY VALENTINE: Okay, so Mike Hampton in the regular season? His intensity level both in the regular season, and if you noticed him step up in the post-season. A lot of intense guys on our team. Three pitchers here, Al and Mike and Rick Reed really get into themselves and get into the competition. I don't know if Mike's stepped up the intensity. I think the intensity's the same, and I'm hoping he can continue tomorrow with that same intensity level.

BOBBY VALENTINE: The expectations continue to grow. At the beginning of the season, I had very little expectation. There was a time I thought that Jay was so frustrated he was thinking about hanging up. There was another time I thought he'd never be able to throw enough to be a National League player. Then there was a time I thought that the time he sat out the last few years would have retarded his growth so much that the league kind of would have passed him by. I continue to have greater expectations. When I saw that he was healthy, when I saw that he was determined, when I saw that he could really throw and play the outfield, when I saw that he could hit and hold his own, my expectations now are for him to be a star player.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I'm just trying to enjoy the moment. It's, I'm sure, going to build as the time comes when we go on the field for introductions, then build even greater when the Yankees take the field before the first pitch, then build during the game. But it's been wonderful. I just feel like I'm living a dream, and I don't mind it. I like it a lot.

BOBBY VALENTINE: He pitched yesterday, he felt very good. He had another -- it might have been an MRI, whatever it is they do to check for those stones. The large matter that was in his kidney was no longer there. So he was pain-free all day yesterday. We called him early this morning before we finalized the roster. He said he had a great night's sleep, he felt good and was ready to go.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I think it's a tough place to win a game because of the Yankees, because of the players. I don't think it's the fans, and I don't think it's anything unique to have a short porch. I think they're just a very good team, and it makes it very difficult.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, he got better because there was an opportunity to play, and that was because Darryl Hamilton got hurt early in the season. With the opportunity, he learned about himself and about the league. I think he worked real hard with Tom Robson. I think his swing and approach has evolved. It hasn't been anything overnight. I think his recognition has continually gotten better, even though early on there were some pitches he saw for the first month or so that were foreign objects to him. It was a lot of hard work being -- getting to be as good a defensive player that he is. He was just shagging and working and running and doing all those things that you have to do.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Absolutely. I think we needed some time, because it is a major event, and this is the World Series, so I guess there's always a little time. But it seems like it's time to play. And I'm all for playing ball.