MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 11, 2000

David Wells

DAVID WELLS: Well, he pitched on Sunday, so, you know, he's out there. He's got a rubber arm. Knowing him, he probably could have gone five or six. There's a lot of guys out there. It's nice to go two. Last time I got one. Just keep batting. Hopefully, there will be another one; get three.

DAVID WELLS: No. I believe there should be two All-Star Games in that case. There's a lot of guys who had some great stats. It's been like that for a long time. It's just a matter of position. You know, some positions are so loaded and guys are having tremendous years, they can't take everybody. You know, I feel for the people that have to make the decisions on that, because it's a shame. That's why we should get a week off, have two All-Star Games, and that way we can enjoy a little bit more time off.

DAVID WELLS: When you get ahead in the count, you can throw anything up there. If you show you've got command of your pitches, they can't sit on a certain pitch, and I had a good curveball working tonight. It's a blessing. When you get these guys with their bats on their shoulder, it's a nice feeling; but, you know, with Andres, I had the ball right over the plate, he crushed it. He did the same thing to me about a month ago when we played the Braves. That man can hit. Don't leave anything out over the plate or you're in trouble. Then Chipper, tried to get back at me. So that's something that -- you know, those things happen. Thank God you go out there and get unscathed.

DAVID WELLS: Well, I enjoy the spotlight for the fact that I'm not afraid to fail. I want to be the hero. If I lose, I can accept the -- I can accept that as well, you know. When you go out there, a lot of guys can't accept failure. That's one thing I've learned over the years: You're going to win and you're going to lose, and you take the good with the bad. I feel strongly about that. If you do, and you -- your head just goes down, there's no reason for it. The best thing is you go out there and you've done your best. If it isn't good enough, then you should still hang your head high.

DAVID WELLS: Well, you know, that's a big word, and something that I know that will never happen with me because of the fact that there's just so many guys out there that have ten-times better numbers than what I have, and haven't made it yet. But to me, anybody who is a legend and one of the greatest to ever play the game, I thank you for even thinking that. That's an awesome feeling. But with me, I don't think it will ever happen. All they're going to get is my hat and that jersey that's in the Hall of Fame and maybe a couple of artifacts, as well. That's good enough.

DAVID WELLS: I just go out there and pitch my game. I don't know a lot of these hitters. For me to go out there without knowing their strengths, their weaknesses. All power-hitters, their strength is the ball, the way they want to extend their arms. With me, I move the ball in and out. If I don't know the hitter, I don't have a scouting report, I just go to my strength until they can prove me otherwise. Other than that, then if I've got it, it makes it easier. But these guys out there, they're free-swinging at this point in time. You have to go out there and hopefully make the good pitches, and they don't hit it.

DAVID WELLS: Real bad. Give me a little bit more TV time. (Laughter.)

DAVID WELLS: It would have been nice. I believe I got in that at-bat in '98 against Maddux. You know, it's nice to go up there. I feel like I'm one of the boys. Get up there and swing for the fences. Knowing me, that's probably what I would have done: Just go out there, hit any pitch, anything straight I had a chance. You have a wrinkle in it, there's no way. Knowing me, I'd probably break my back going doing it. It's fun going up there, getting a bat in your hands. As a pitcher, you never know, you can probably win a ball game that way. Joe said, "Just take three." I said: "Okay, right." (Laughter.)

DAVID WELLS: Well, it's -- the way it looks now, it's pretty strong. The Yankees are right there; we're right there. There's a couple of teams that are close, and I think that the best pitching wins. I think with the young staff that we have, you know, these guys, they don't know what they have yet. I see it; I know Rick Langford sees it. It's a matter of these guys putting it together, because they have tremendous arms. Once they find command of their pitches, they get ahead -- oh, boy, this could be a good year for Toronto. You take it one game at a time and play hard. That's what we've been doing. I rely on my defense. When I don't have my best stuff, I give these guys a chance to make plays, because I know I'm not going to get them out on my own. I have that much confidence in our defense, and our offense speaks for itself. It's a matter of us going out there and making the right pitches and try to minimize our mistakes. I think we got one dang good shot at doing it.