NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v CARDINALS

October 10, 2000

Mike Hampton

Mike Piazza

MIKE HAMPTON: Probably about three or four. I started out relieving, so -- and I was always facing, especially in 1994 and then -- but three or four. I have faced -- had some teams that were pretty strong left-sided, so I have faced quite a few.

MIKE HAMPTON: They just got off to a great series with the Braves. They were really hot. It's going to be tough for our pitching staff. It is going to be a real test. They are a great team. They wouldn't be here if they weren't. So we just have to go out there and battle, trust our stuff, and stay out of the middle of the plate.

MIKE HAMPTON: Actually, I think everybody was surprised. The Braves are built on pitching and defense and timely hitting -- everything, I think that a playoff team and a World Series team is all about, what needs to be, because when you get into these series, a lot of times runs are hard to come by. And they hit some great pitching, some of the best pitching to play the game. So it is going to be tough, but it is something I look forward to.

MIKE HAMPTON: Well, just the same against everybody. I am going to stay with my strengths, move the ball in and out, and just keep it out of the middle of the plate, keep it out of the sweet spot.

MIKE HAMPTON: I don't know one way or the other, really. If anything, anyone has advantage if a guy doesn't throw as hard as another and is consistently in the middle of the zone, he is going to get hit.

MIKE HAMPTON: I don't think anybody has the advantage. I'd rather throw 98 miles an hour consistently, but I don't. Bobby Jones proved in his last game he is not overpowering, but he was able to locate. Pitching is all about location. So we will work on that tomorrow.

MIKE HAMPTON: Yeah, we did. It is almost impossible to throw one as well as he does. He has just got that knack for a great curve ball. He knows he has got different speeds, different angles, it is just his pitch, so that is his strength. He complements it with a good, sinking fastball. He is a tough pitcher. But we have talked a little bit about it, but his strengths and my strengths are pretty much different.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, I am trying not to. I mean, I don't think you should ever have a sense of urgency in this game when it comes to execution, because that is when you really tend to do things you shouldn't be doing. You know what, I think for me it is just anything I can do to help this team win, whether that is catching a good ballgame, like the other day, whatever I can chip in offensively, great. I have said before the only important statistic right now this time of the year is the win/loss column. Anything I can do to help this team win is the most important thing. So obviously, I am expected to hit. But my duties are a little bit more extensive as well behind the plate. If I can go out, catch a ballgame, and we win the ballgame, my job -- that is my job. That is what I am supposed to do.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, first off, you can't steal first base. So we just try to keep them off the base paths. That is all you can do. But if they happen to get guys on, you still -- you know the good base runners on the team are going to steal bases. You just have to try to contain them and not let them run wild, and try to cut down on the big inning. I think that is why our pitching did extremely well against San Francisco. We really didn't allow them to kind of take us out of these ball games, and we were able to stay close and eventually overtake them. So that is baseball in general. And when we play well, that is what we do.

MIKE HAMPTON: Well, I mean, you always want to hit -- swing better. I don't think you ever -- even when you are swinging the bat well, I mean you are still making outs. For me, you know what? I just want to hit the ball hard. I hit a couple of balls hard the other day, and obviously didn't have anything to show for it. But like I said, you can't be so preoccupied with it as it starts to really take away from your next at-bat. Benny Agbayani proved he had one hit that night, but it was a big hit. So if you get one opportunity in the game to help your ballclub, whatever you can do, you will take it. So you just try to make every at-bat quality; and as I said, if you get a chance to help your team, great.

MIKE PIAZZA: I am really not a huge believer in momentum myself. I think it is all a matter of a team gelling, team unity. As I have said, I mean, you can go in a situation where you win games by a lot of runs, and you can go into situations when you win a one-run game in five hours or 14 innings, 13 innings -- whatever it is. You know what I mean. I am just not a big believer in momentum. I just think that you just have to go out and execute. And as I said, especially in these games, one run -- obviously, one little mistake can mean a lot. So you just want to not beat yourself, and you know, who knows. It is like momentum is there, I guess. If you win, you say you have got momentum. If you don't, you don't. So it is just like I said, whatever the situation is.

MIKE HAMPTON: Well, there were some great games. Actually, if I remember correctly, every series we played was pretty exciting. Two very quality ball teams that, you know, do the little things right, play hard until the last out is made. Especially when we were here the last time, they proved that. They won in their last at-bat. It's not a good feeling for the opposing team walking off the field three times in a row. I think it kind of stuck in the back of our minds a little bit. But they came out and did the job when they had to. We were in those games, which was a good thing. There were no blowouts, so we felt that with one little break either way we could have won those games. But bottom line, it boils down to two very good teams playing each other; and you know, basically, when you get to the situation, the best team wins.

MIKE HAMPTON: You know, I go a lot off memory. I don't know if it is, I don't know, maybe ignorant on my part or not, but I basically know every hitter I face. I remember the at-bats they had, when I faced them earlier in the year, the year previous. I really can remember things like that, what pitches they hit. So I use stuff that is stored up a little more than some of the guys on our team. I know they like to watch videotapes and stuff of hitters, of what pitchers are getting them out, and stuff. But I just go on memory.

MIKE PIAZZA: Oh, yeah. Well, I think maybe it is an indication of how exciting the games can be. Every game was close, obviously, as Mike said, you don't want to lose on a walk-off. It is a little frustrating to lose a game like that. But again, the games were close; they were exciting. There weren't huge swings either way. So maybe it is an indication, maybe it is not. I don't know. I think these games are everything. The regular season now is just out the window. And there is a lot more at stake here, a lot more excitement, a lot more adrenaline. So who knows? But again, I think we can draw upon just the experience we have now in the postseason and being at some very tough ball games. I think everyone feels if we stay close, we feel like we can win it.

MIKE HAMPTON: Not really. It basically boils down me going down one or two. I have never put much stock in it. It doesn't really matter to me as long as I get a chance to pitch and show what I can do. These are big games. Everyone wants to pitch in these games. These are things that we dream about as kids to be in situations like this with a chance to -- a legitimate chance to go to a World Series. But any decision Bobby makes is, you know, you can't fault him for it. I think he has got some quality choices.

MIKE HAMPTON: I don't really know if there is any advantage. It basically boils down to if you are on that day, regardless if you are right- or lefthanded, you got to like your chances. But any pitcher can get hit, proven in the last series they had against the Braves. So, we have just got to come out and pitch our games. On paper it looks great, with all their lefties, as opposed to myself and Al, being lefthanded. But it basically boils down to still making quality pitches.

MIKE PIAZZA: I mean, obviously, I have always felt that that is my No. 1 job, and the responsibility being behind the plate is something that I don't take lightly. So here it is even that much more important. So I want to be solid. That is all I want to do is be solid. I don't want to try and do things I am not capable of doing. I don't want to -- I just want to -- if I get a chance to make a play at the plate and save our team a run, that is what I want to do. If, like I said, I can throw out a guy or two, great, and get some help from everybody. I think it is a team thing. That is what we have proved on the last series is the fact that when we play well as a team, then we can win. We have proved that the whole year. There are obviously some guys that have bigger jobs, and I am one of them. But you know what? We have this really good team feeling going right now, and that is something that we hope is going to get us through this series as well.

MIKE PIAZZA: I think relief because we don't have to answer any Atlanta Braves questions. We have had our share of those the last, at least since I have been here, the last three years. But you know what? I don't know if it -- I don't know if we're relieved. I don't think it has anything to do with it. Just the fact we know we are playing a tough St. Louis team. Obviously, these are the two best teams in the league. They beat Atlanta. Obviously, we beat San Francisco. It is going to be a tough series. I don't really put any credence in knowing or feeling that we don't have to play Atlanta.

MIKE HAMPTON: When he was struggling, I think it was -- was it 1996 maybe? And I told him, I said: "Man, I will trade stuff with you in a second." He was that good. I think being in Coors Field, I think it was a little more mental than physical. Of course, your curve ball is not going to be as sharp and your sinking fastball is not going to be the same. But as long as he is mentally strong, he is one of the toughest pitchers in the game. He proved that his last year in Houston and then again this year. So it is a tough test for our hitters, and it's going to be a tough test for me as well, because I know the chances are there won't be a whole lot of runs scored.

MIKE HAMPTON: No, actually, I haven't. You just try to put it out of your mind. I mean it is over with. There is nothing I can do. I felt I made a pretty quality pitch on 2-2. I tried to make another quality pitch on 3-2. He hit a triple. Then you know, it snow-balled from there. I made a mistake too, but, that is in the past. Bottom line is winning games. We had to win three before we lost three, and our team picked me up that way, and we are in the next series. So I won't think about that at all.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, I mean, it depends on who you ask, really. I think this team we all have a lot to be proud of, and we have all worked hard, just like every team has who has been at this point. But myself, personally, I feel like, hey, we have gotten to this point now, we got to this point last year. Now, hopefully, we can take it a step further. Like I said, I think anytime you get in the playoffs you can consider your season somewhat of a success, but then your ultimate goal is to be a World champion. So you know, again, as I said, speaking for myself, personally, that is the one thing that, you know, you really -- obviously, I haven't deluded myself personally, but it just gives you continued incentive to try to keep going out there and working hard, to keep popping that champagne. Because that is what is fun. That is what the most fun in this game is.

MIKE PIAZZA: You learn that you can't hold anything back. That you -- this is what it is all about. And this is where the fun is. This is what these games are obviously -- this is what you work for. Again, I think everyone, as I have said before, has bumps and bruises and have had a lot of ball games now. But now is the time where you dig down deep and find that reserve to get you through the hump -- get you over the hump, and get you to the next dance. That is what it is all about. As a team, you just do whatever you can. And like I said, that seems like the feeling we have right now.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, I think only because every pitch is such, kind of -- what the is the word? Every pitch is important. It is not like during the year to where you lose a game, hey, you come back tomorrow and you get them. Every game is crucial; every pitch is crucial. So as I said, so much more homework goes into every pitch; and yeah, I mean, you are looking at tapes and you are doing all kinds of homework to try to exploit the other team's weaknesses. But you also have to go out and execute as well. So there is a lot of things that go into it. Then you have the mental battle. I mean this game is always mental. So once you get out of that sort of mode a little bit, it could be tough. As I said, I think the thing you have to do is, once you go through the whole spectrum of analyzing and overanalyzing, you get out there and you just realize it is just a game, and enjoy the moment. And I enjoy the adrenaline and the nerves and have fun with it. And that is -- I think maybe teams that have won in the past, that they find that earlier than other teams. Some teams never find it, I guess.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, again, I don't -- you try not to get into a situation where you think about it too much. Kind of like as hitter, picking your poison. Both those guys are awesome pitchers. I mean, obviously for me it would seem like I would have a -- personally, I would be able to have an easier time against Ankiel because he is lefthanded. But we faced him here a few weeks ago, and I found out that wasn't the case. He is obviously young, very talented. Kile has had a Cy Young type of year. What can you do? You to want to be the best, you have got to beat the best. I can't say that you go into a series thinking: Well, we have got to face this guy or that guy. No matter who they throw out there, you know they are going to be good so you. You just want to go out and do as I said, whatever you can. If you get one opportunity to help your ballclub, that is what you have got to do.

MIKE HAMPTON: Thank you very much.