NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v CARDINALS

October 15, 2000

Mike Hampton

MIKE HAMPTON: You're right, totally different ball game.

MIKE HAMPTON: Relieved, I don't know about relieved, I was satisfied with the way things went. But tomorrow will be a new ball game. I'll start at ground zero in the first inning. They can come out and have a different approach, or come out with the same approach. They have some tough at-bats, they're a good team. It's always a battle out there. But whoever's on tomorrow will win.

MIKE HAMPTON: Depends on the person. I guess I was watching something on Joe Torre's speaking, he said power pitchers might need that extra day, like to have the full rest because they rely on the velocity of their pitches. Guys like myself, guys that rely on movement and location, I don't think it bothers me as much. I know with Darryl (Kile), I played, shoot, I think four years with him, I felt if anybody could pitch on two days' rest, he'd be the one guy that could do it, he throws all the time. He throws 200 balls a day and it's like his arm never hurts. It just depends on the person I think.

MIKE HAMPTON: I've avoided that question for six and a half months, I'm thinking another two weeks won't be hard avoiding.

MIKE HAMPTON: I just expect a lot out of myself; it's just an expectation. I feel that any time after a bad outing, I just have to reflect on things I could have done different. That's probably why I sleep maybe two or three hours after I start regardless of how I pitch. But I don't really get down on myself. I just think of things I can do different next time or things I can improve on.

MIKE HAMPTON: Do I look like an angry person sometimes? (Laughter.) I don't know if anger is the right word. Maybe a little more focused, it's probably it's just focus and a concentration level that I don't want to have to go through again. I don't want to have to answer those questions and run those theories through my mind of why I did this, why I did that. That's the best explanation I can give you.

MIKE HAMPTON: It's just -- everything's on the line. So I think the upside, I know, is probably a little greater. It's magnified a few times because basically if you perform well, your team's going to go home. That's one thing with a starting pitcher's job, is the outcome of the game. Basically it lies on your shoulders because nothing happens until that ball leaves your hand. And a hitter can go 0-4, somebody will pick him up, but a pitcher gets off to a bad day and puts you in a hole early, that's the difference in a ball game.

MIKE HAMPTON: If anything, if I can pinpoint anything, it's probably just the way I was raised. I just was taught to win regardless. Basically, second place is first loser. That's basically what it boils down to. The things I do, the approach I take, the way I look on the mound is nothing that I go out and try to do. It's just what comes naturally.

MIKE HAMPTON: Just my father's doing basically. At a young age, I was playing ball, watching him, watching him play the game, he played it to win, played it hard until the last out was made. That's the way I was taught, that's the way I play, that's the way I teach my kids.

MIKE HAMPTON: Just my mindset, pitch location, situations that I would have done differently, if I give up one hit, why did I give up one hit; if I gave up ten, why did I give up those ten hits? Just break it down. It's something you can't turn off, it's going and going and going, and every once in a while you doze off in between. It's something that never dies. Maybe it's just me being a perfectionist.

MIKE HAMPTON: I actually do all right before the game. I sleep pretty well. I've never been one that needs a ton of sleep to feel well-rested. But I do a little better before the games than I do after.

MIKE HAMPTON: This is all exciting. It doesn't matter if -- I'd love to be in that situation. And in a perfect world, things turn out and we'll win the game tonight and then I'll be in that situation. But I'm looking forward, regardless to 2-2, 3-1. I'm pitching the game of my life. I'm going to be excited about it, I'll go out there, put it all on the line and do the best I can. One thing I've never had was regrets of my performance, because I know I do my best on the field. That's the way I'll approach it.

MIKE HAMPTON: I've been one of those pitchers that usually goes with my strengths - sinking fastball in and out, keeping the ball down. That's the way I am. I was pretty unsuccessful last time, wasn't pretty, got more guys on base than I would have liked to, walked a few guys, had some tough innings. But if anything different, it's just I have to try to be a little more consistent, ahead in the count a little more. Stuff-wise, pitch selection wise, I'm going to stay with my strengths.

MIKE HAMPTON: The thing about starting pitching is if you get in a pattern and you're predictable, they keep seeing the same stuff over and over again, then it becomes maybe an advantage for them. But when you're able to control both sides of the plate and change speeds, yeah, they might know what stuff you have, but they don't know what's coming in that particular situation. That's the way I approach it.