MLB WORLD SERIES: INDIANS v MARLINS

October 23, 1997

Livan Hernandez

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: I felt fine. I felt strong. I gave up a man on base, and then Vizquel hit two-out single, I felt fine. At that time comes the time of the closer, and he came in and did his job.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: I really don't know. I don't know if I did or not. But to be honest with you I really don't know. I went by it running.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: Yeah, and they saw me, as well.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: Because it's a secret.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: When I get angry like that, it helps me concentrate better. I don't get angry when I'm on the diamond, but when I'm done it helps me get fired up, when I come off the field, helps me concentrate better, because I know I did something wrong.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: No, I wasn't mad at Jim Leyland, I might have been a little mad at myself because I threw Vizquel a pitch that I probably shouldn't have thrown, but I wasn't mad at him at all. I had to throw him a breaking ball in that situation, so I could get a ground ball for a double play.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: To take it easy, to take it slow, to calm myself down, there was still a lot of baseball to be played and we were going to win the game.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: No, really all he said was just to take it easy, take it calm, slow down, there's still a lot of baseball game to be played.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: When I get out there, I really can't think about her, because if I do I'll wind up getting into a lot of trouble, and I'll start worrying about everything out there. I think about her before, and I think about her right now, I'm thinking about her, but at the time I'm there, I take her out there with me, but I really can't think about it.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: He hit a fastball down and in and he did it well, but then I was able to calm down by just moving my pitches around.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: Eight? (Laughter.) I was able to throw a lot of balls down, where they were able to hit grounders for double plays, and others where they were just ground outs.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: That homerun was the nail that inning, it got us all excited, it helped me out a lot, and the whole dugout, we all got very, very excited, screamed a lot for Moises, and it helped a lot.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: I think the cold actually helped me. I felt fresh, I felt cool out there, and I was even sweating.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: Those are things that happen in the game. Perhaps if he was out, maybe I could have gotten three outs, but those things happen in the game, and as it was I didn't finish the game. I really don't know, I think maybe I didn't step on the bag.

LIVAN HERNANDEZ: Charles Johnson is just a great catcher, he's always saying things, helping you out throughout the game. And as always I owe it to Charles Johnson for the game he called and to the great team that plays behind me. He helps me concentrate, especially when I'm doing something mechanically that's not right, he comes over and helps me and points it out. Same as a few of the infielders, they'll come over there and they'll come close and they'll help me out as well. And even though some people may not agree, that helps the pitcher out a lot. It gives them -- it relaxes them and it also gives them more courage.