MLB WORLD SERIES: METS v YANKEES

October 24, 2000

Jose Vizcaino

JOSE VIZCAINO: Well, Luis's been doing a great job. He played in Seattle and Oakland. I was pulling for him. I was pulling for the team. The only thing I got in my mind is I want to win in the Big League for ten years. I never got a chance to go to the World Series. This is my first time. I'm just pulling for everybody because I want to win.

JOSE VIZCAINO: Well, nobody talked about that in the clubhouse. Just it's happened, and we don't even talk about that. We just have to concentrate on tonight's game. Whatever happened, it happened. We just have to continue, and we have more games to play. So we just have to take our mind off of that and think about tonight's game.

JOSE VIZCAINO: No, not at all. It's another game. Like I say, what happened the other day is over. So we don't think there is anything going on, because he's going to play again. We don't think about it; nothing is going to happen. Both teams are set up, we just have to think about our game. They're going to try to win tonight because they need to win. We want to win tonight, so we're going to have to just play the game.

JOSE VIZCAINO: Yeah. I had fun the three years that I played here. The fans here, they were great to me and my family. Today, when I came to the park, I saw a couple of people that work here. They hugged me. They said, "We love you, but we hate you now." (Laughter.)

JOSE VIZCAINO: People that work out there in the office.

JOSE VIZCAINO: I always feel comfortable playing defense, because that's what I've been doing most of the year here, since I got here. So I spend a lot of time during the game in the batting cage and hitting off of the tee inside the clubhouse. So just getting loose, because I know my first concern is just to work more on my defense, because that's what they brought me here for, because Chuck Knoblauch had problems. So I knew if we'll be winning by the sixth inning, I might have a chance to go play defense. So that's why I was putting more time into my defense.

JOSE VIZCAINO: It's been a dream, like I said before. Because I knew since I got here, things weren't going good with the Dodgers. Coming here to the Yankees, I knew I was going to have a chance to go to the post-season and have a chance to go to the World Series. And this time it happened. First time here. I'm just enjoying every moment. I never thought I was going to be starting in a World Series, and here it is , third game, I'm going to start three games. I'm just really happy and I'm enjoying it every minute.

JOSE VIZCAINO: They're both great. (Laughter.) No, Yankee fans. They are more spoiled because they won more. They won the last two World Series. And the Mets' fans, they haven't been in a World Series since '86. Yankees fans are just as loud as Mets fans.

JOSE VIZCAINO: Well, we had a great team when I was with the Dodgers. They have some great players over there. But I think the difference was that the 25 guys here, they play more together. It's one team here. All 25 guys, they just have one goal in mind: To win. A couple guys over there, they just want to have a good, individual goal, have a great season or whatever. Here, they don't -- numbers don't count here. It's just the win.

JOSE VIZCAINO: He talks to me every day. He's a professional guy, like I say. We have 25 guys here. If you don't play, the other guy is going to pull for you. You just want -- he just wants me to do well so we can win.

JOSE VIZCAINO: He said, "Go get them. Do a great job," like I did the first game.

JOSE VIZCAINO: I don't know. I think they'd rather have him there. Even if he was there, he could have a good game, too. He's a good player, and everybody knows him from back in Minnesota, how great he was defensively. This is the only year that he's been having some problems. So last time we were here, they were just happy that he was playing. This is the World Series; he's taking it good. He says that he's fine with Joe's decision. He just wants to win.

JOSE VIZCAINO: No, no. I'm going to lead it off. If he throws me the first pitch down the middle and I can swing, I'll swing. I just have to concentrate. And if I can see a couple pitches, it will be better for the other guys. But I'm not going to go out there and just take the first pitch down the middle just because to see what he has. If I can take advantage of getting the first pitch, it will be better.

RICK CERRONE: I think El Duque is fine. I didn't ask him, but he's getting dressed. I think Joe was talking earlier and said that he would be very surprised if he doesn't pitch tonight.

JOSE VIZCAINO: I never thought about that. When I was a kid, I would just dream to play professional ball and be able to go to the World Series. But I never thought that I was going to be driving the game-winning RBI in the first game of the World Series. So I've been living a dream since that day. I've been enjoying every moment. Hopefully, there's a couple more to come.