MLB WORLD SERIES: PADRES v YANKEES

October 17, 1998

Chuck Knoblauch

Tino Martinez

TINO MARTINEZ: It was nice, like Joe said earlier, I haven't done much. We've been winning. We got the World Series. I knew eventually I'd come up in a big situation and get a big hit to help the team win. I've been taking it game by game. It's definitely a big relief to get a hit in a situation like today and help the team win.

TINO MARTINEZ: Well, I was looking for a fastball. I thought it was down. I thought it was down. I saw a fastball a little bit up, I thought it was down in the zone, I thought he did a great job being consistent behind the plate all the time.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: I had a pretty good feeling. I hit it pretty good. When it left my bat, you know, I thought I had a chance. You know, got a little worried when I saw Vaughn jump up on the wall. I didn't know how far it went out. But I had a pretty good feeling.

TINO MARTINEZ: Yeah, I was looking for a fastball again. I figured he had to throw a strike in that situation, not walk in the go-ahead run. I was looking fastball again and got one up in the zone a little bit.

TINO MARTINEZ: Absolutely. I have a lot of respect for their bullpen. They have a great bullpen. But he's been tough on me personally over the years, and I knew he had thrown a lot of pitches up until that point and we just tried to keep battling, get men on base and try to break it open.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: I echo Tino's feelings. Any time you get a starting pitcher out of the game, it's a good thing. And especially when it's Kevin Brown.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: It's extremely -- it's a huge win. It's the first game of the World Series. And, you know, we have that one under our belt. So it's definitely a good feeling.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: Throughout the season, if you play baseball it's a roller coaster ride, a lot of ups and a lot of downs. You hope you are able to stay consistent with it, and you know, basically from my standpoint, the play in the ALCS, I tried to put that to bed, you know, when I stepped out on the field Friday night in Cleveland for Game 3. In my mind, you know, you have to let it go. I mean there's nothing you can do if you look back on it, there's nothing you can do to change it. You try to move beyond it. We won that series, and, you know, we're sitting here tonight. So, again, you know, baseball, there's a lot of ups and downs and you just have to try to stay consistent.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: I don't -- I have to check the tapes. But no, I'm kidding. I was just very excited. It was really pumped up. I think I just screamed yeah, you know. It was just a great feeling. To have the whole place standing up, screaming, you just get caught up in the emotion of the moment.

TINO MARTINEZ: Well, personally, you know, I was struggling in the ALCS. Nobody likes to get booed or what not during the playoffs because you bust your butts all year to get here and play well. Chuck's play that he made in the ALCS, you know, it's one of those plays. We picked him up, he played a great series in Cleveland to help us get back on track. You know, it's great to get a curtain call at this time of year, but the fans have been very supportive of us throughout.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: Kind of the same thing. You know, I had a little smile on my face because, you know, Tino and I have been trying to pump each other up to be honest. You know, you try to lift each other up. We've been in the cage the last couple of days working together and trying things, and you know, I don't know -- I was probably more excited when he hit his homerun than when I hit mine. I was sitting on the bench saying come on Tino, this is it, let's go, come on. You know, it was just a great feeling. You know, ups and downs. But, you know, we've been trying to help each other out.

TINO MARTINEZ: I feel the same way. I was just happy when he hit his homerun. We've been struggling together. When he got his homerun, I ran out there as fast as I could, to congratulate him, I said that's it, you're going to have a great

postseason now.

TINO MARTINEZ: No, we haven't. We usually call him after every game. But we've been -- I guess they have a lot of questions and haven't had a chance. I'm sure he's called or some guys have talked to him. If I don't talk to him tonight, I'll definitely talk to him tomorrow.

TINO MARTINEZ: I've gotten a few hits off of him over the years. I think now -- he threw very hard. When I first came up to the Big Leagues, had a great hard fastball. Now he relies more on his change-up and slider. He pitches a little more than he does try to overpower you. He's a great pitcher. You know, just, you know, fortunately got a good ball to hit.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: It was definitely a tough game. I thought it was a very exciting game. There was, you know, we took the lead and they came right back on us which hurt us because they jumped up and we came in after we got down. And just said let's try to battle them. We have five more innings to go, try to scratch out a few more runs, try to answer back. Hopefully we can win this thing. It was a big inning for us, seven runs in the seventh inning. So, you know, you could look at it either way. It's been tough for us to lose the first game and I'm sure tough for them. But you have to come back tomorrow and, you know, go at them tomorrow.