MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 6, 1998

Ken Griffey Jr.

Sammy Sosa

SAMMY SOSA: I don't know about pressure. I never feel. I never feel like I have pressure. I have to play the game the way it is. I have good mentally control. For me, I don't have for fear, so I just go out there, trying to do what I need to do, taking care of business.

JEFF IDELSON: Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be in the same lineup as Juan Gonzalez?

SAMMY SOSA: For me, it would be something that would be amazing because Gonzalez and I have been playing for Texas, you know, came together in the same organization. When I decided to go to a different organization, I said to myself, you know, say to Juan, "You got to go get them because we're not going to be here together no more, I got to go over there make my life in another city."

SAMMY SOSA: : That's cool (laughter). I wish I have a hundred, too. I mean, this is amazing. I never see nobody drive so much RBI, you know, half of the season. This is something I'm real proud of Juan.

JEFF IDELSON: Do you have a theory on the number of people that are hitting a lot of home runs and RBIs at that short juncture?

SAMMY SOSA: Well, you know, every year it is a lot of people that have a quality, as has been this year. Griffey, Mark, Gonzales. You have a lot of number. I think that we going to keep it continue because we been preparing ourself to go out there and have a good year. The only way you can do it is try to finish good the first half, and then the second half. I think it's going to keep continue like that.

JEFF IDELSON: Talk about Gonzalez as a hitter?

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: Right now, he's just hitting everything. He's got -- the most amazing thing is he's got all those guys on base with less than two outs, guy standing on third. The guys in front of him are doing their job. He's just taking advantage of the situation that he's in.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: I just go out there and be the person I am. I don't really worry about am I helping the game. I just want to go out there and not disrespect myself, my teammates and my organization. As long as I do this that, I think I'll be okay.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: Yeah. I think with the changes we made so far, it's helped.

SAMMY SOSA: I think we have a lot of chance. We only five behind. The way we've been playing this year has been awesome. I think that if we keep continue like that, second half of the season, I think we can catch Houston.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: I don't really think about it. Until I retire, then that's fine. But I'm still a player. I haven't really done anything yet. I haven't got a World Championship. I just want to go out there and play. When I retire, then if it's possible -- right now I don't think about it.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: The situation, last year, with our travel schedule, I flew seven hours to get to a press conference at nine o'clock. The home run competition didn't start until four. By four o'clock, I was just wore out. This year, I just said, "I can't do it." It takes me a couple days, with our schedule, all our off days are flying. We don't have the luxury of going to a city and having a day off in that city. You know, we have a Sunday day game, then Monday we're flying to Boston or New York. That's not a day off for us. Right now, I just need to rest.

SAMMY SOSA: Well, like I say, you know, everybody know that I want to be there. But, you know, since I'm hurt in my shoulder, it's unhappy to me. If Pedro and I, you know, would be there, and he was pitching me, you know I'm going to go out there and do my job. He going to go out there and do his job. So right now, I just, you know, feel a little kind of disappointment myself because I cannot be there. Which is only human being, you never know what can happen to you tomorrow. I don't have control of the situation. But I would like to be there. Maybe next year I come back to the All-Star, if I can make it. Probably I can play.

JEFF IDELSON: Do you feel differently about hitting at Coors Field because of the reputation of the ballpark?

SAMMY SOSA: Definitely, it's a great ballpark. I never have no problem. Even Ken Griffey is a good hitter, too (laughter). I don't think so that it any problem for us. We can hit everywhere we go. That's how we play this game. We just do our job wherever we go.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: I don't try to make the adjustments. I just, you know -- we play at Boston, everybody tries to hit to left field. I just try to hit it where it's pitched. After I it leaves my bat, I have no control where it goes.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: My dad was a hitting coach here for a year. He said, "Just go out there, swing the bat, don't try to do too much because it will go out if you hit it".

SAMMY SOSA: I have my money on Mark McGwire.

SAMMY SOSA: Griffey, I know you my boy, but (laughter). No, not really. I think that Mark have a lot of potential, Griffey and myself. But, you know, like Griffey say, he never thinking about what can happen. I'm never thinking about it what can happen up there. We have another second half to go. Who knows, I might be the one, Griffey might be the one or Mark. Right now, myself, I'm not thinking. Maybe when the year is over, something can happen, I will let you know.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: You want me to answer that, too? Mark.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: Oh, yeah.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: He's bigger out of the three.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.: That didn't come into my train of thought. As long as I go out there and play during the season and try to do the things that I've been doing, I thought that would be more important than the home run competition. I look at it, you know, I didn't do it in '95 and '96 due to injuries. Still I don't have full range of motion in my wrist. There's a lot of things I have to think about before I do something.

SAMMY SOSA: The way that Griffey swing, that's something that's natural. Almost the same Mark. I mean, Griffey, every time that I see him hit a home run with the kind of swing that he have, the way that I see it, he don't trying to hit a home run, just an easy swing, make contact. You know, I think Mark, the way that he is so big, the way that he swing, he swing so easy. This is something that you have a lot of power, he's one of the main man. I don't think he mean to go out there trying to swing hard to hit a home run. I don't think so.

SAMMY SOSA: Myself, I'm crazy. I'm swinging the bat all the way. I'm going out there, I'm not swinging the bat hard, I think I've been cheating myself. I'm going to go out there and swing the bat the way I'm supposed to be swinging.

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