AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: INDIANS v YANKEES

October 8, 1998

Chuck Knoblauch

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: Yeah, we got into town last night, I got a chance to see it and for the first time and definitely gave me a different feel for it. You know, I screwed up. I screwed up the play, and I feel terrible about that. You know, I should have went and got the ball, regardless of what the outcome of the umpire's call was. I basically screwed up the play and feel bad for that and I need to apologize to my teammates and my manager and the Yankees and all the Yankee fans. Bottom line, I screwed up that play.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: No, just asked if I was all right and showed what great teammates they were. In a moment like that, you need some support sometimes and it was nice to have guys come up and have Mr. Steinbrenner come up and talk to me and basically tell me to keep my chin up and that's all I can do.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: Well, there will be good times and bad times and you've got to face the facts one way or the other and that's just the guy I'm trying to be.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: After seeing the replay, seeing it from a -- from their perspective, they were booing me screwing up the play and you can't fault them for that and they're going to react to what they see and, you know, I screwed it up.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: No, he didn't say anything to me about it.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: Well, if I never play another game, this will be what I'll be remembered for. But hopefully we can wipe that out tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a long career in New York and hopefully a lot of good times. You know, in the game of baseball and in life there is ups and downs and it's just a matter of how you recover from them.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: First off, my career in Minnesota really just gave me experience in the Major Leagues, seven years of experience. With the headlines, I haven't seen them and don't plan to. I screwed up a play and it cost us the game. When you do something like that, that's the treatment you're going to get.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: No, I turned it on, I was watching the Braves and Padres game and after that I saw it on baseball tonight on ESPN. So it was something that I wanted to see. I didn't get a chance to see it immediately following the game. I was just looking to see it.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: I don't have any different thoughts. You know, I just, in my mind, the bottom line is I didn't go get the ball, I should have got the ball, regardless of what happened. That's basically what I should have done.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: I don't think so. Speaking about my at-bats first, I had five and-a-half out of six quality at-bats, probably the best at-bats I've had all year in terms of hitting the ball hard consistently and just didn't get anything to show for it. As far as a gorilla on my back, I'm facing the facts right now and just like life, like I said, the game of baseball, you have to move on and at some point put it behind you. When I go out there tomorrow and when I leave this room, there won't be any added pressure on me.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: I had a pretty good feeling when a guy scores from first, that should never happen on a play like that. But to see it on TV, you can see where the ball goes, which I didn't know where it went. You can see it and it just seems like almost on TV, almost like time stands still. And the ball is rolling behind me. So, I mean, it just gave me a different perspective. I mean, when the play's actually happening, it's a little bit different than afterwards or on the outside looking in.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: No, I don't feel otherwise. With the way it happened and some of the replays I've seen and some comments by Jim Evans saying it could have gone either way, I still believe there is a chance he could have been called out. Again, that's a moot point and basically it falls on my shoulders that I screwed it up.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: I didn't get any damage control. I mean, this is coming from me and sitting in my room last night and seeing the replay and replaying the play over in my head hundreds of times and, you know, really I didn't really get a chance to talk to too many people. But that's it.

CHUCK KNOBLAUCH: Thank you.