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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: ROUND ONE

March 7, 2006

Ramon Hernandez

POOL D: ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Q. Did you see the ball Miguel hit? Did you think it was over?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: You know, I was on deck and it's too far to say. But to me we didn't have that good of a view and I couldn't tell if it was a home run or not.
Q. What's the atmosphere here like?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: It's pretty good. You see the stadium, all the people come to watch the games and you know, you get excited. You got a lot of people from each country supporting their own teams and then you see that and again, that makes you want to play more. You want to play harder and try to beat the other team that you're playing against.
Q. How did it compare to say a Caribbean Series game?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Well, over here you got more talent. You got more big leaguers playing. So every player that plays on each country's team is a star on their own team here in the big leagues.
So it's totally different. It's better baseball, better game and you got better hitters.
Q. Was the crowd like the Caribbean Series game?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Oh, yeah, it was like that.
Q. Is the Caribbean Series more intense, more loud?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: I think both. I think that each country, Venezuela and Dominican Republic, they, when we put our uniform saying our country's name, we try to play our best baseball we can, because we represent, each player, you know, as our own country.
So I think it's the same intensity no matter if it's the Caribbean Series or here in the World Baseball Classic.
Q. Every one is so scared of injury in this. When you got hit did they think about taking you out?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Yeah, maybe. But when you get hit, you think the manager will call on you or something. But when you kept playing, it's not that bad. And hopefully like I said, it's a bruise and then I'll be back tomorrow. Hopefully it goes away, gets better, so I can play the game.
Q. Will you get it X-rayed?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: No, I don't think so. I don't need to because I'm moving my fingers pretty good.
Q. (Inaudible)?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: I think I been playing with him for six years and I never seen him bunt. But it was a good play and he picked a good spot to bunt and he did what everybody was not expecting. He surprised everybody. Because he waited so long that I think that his last bunt I would say it was 10 years ago.
Q. What about the pitch to Ortiz, what was it?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: It was a breaking ball. A hanging breaking ball and then he did what a good hitter like him supposed to do. You hang it, he hits it out of the stadium.
Q. Did he ask for the breaking ball?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Yeah, he did. He stayed back pretty good and he hit it the best he can hit it.
Q. The national pride and the flag waving and it's different in this country. Do you think this maybe opens some people's eyes from the United States today what baseball is like in Latin America and how important it is to the people there?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Yeah, I think so. Definitely. Not a doubt. I think that when you play in the Caribbean, baseball, they are very proud. And the people, the fans are very supportive. Each country. They get as loud as they can get. It gets loud in the stadium. We keep trying to be louder than the other team. And they love the game. And that's one of the sports -- and in the Caribbean, it's the number one sport, baseball.
So everybody totally loves that game. Especially when you are playing against another country.
Q. You played across the bay from Barry Bonds. A book came out today saying that he definitely had used steroids. Are you surprised that there's still stuff lingering as far as steroids go, even when something like this is happening?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: You know what, I think for that type of situation, I totally have no comment, because I'm more about me. And those comments, I don't say anything to nobody. That's not important. I guess they got to deal with it. And you know, leave me out of it. I guess nobody else -- as long as I don't get in any trouble, so I'm just trying to keep myself safe and trying to play the game. And just keep going and hopefully this will all go away in the end. Anybody comes, gets caught, they shouldn't play baseball.
Q. Talk about the rivalry with the Dominican Republic now and Venezuela in the Caribbean Series and here. Manny and the boys, they kind of put it to you today?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: It's totally back and forth. Nobody is number one or a favorite. I mean we can beat, we can face them again and we might beat them again. Now they beat us back. So as long as it goes like that, the intensity is always right there and the competition is always going to be very, very important.
So a lot of people are going to want to follow that.
Q. With the way the fans were, was that kind of like a game down there?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Yeah. It's like that. It gets even -- sometimes it gets louder and you can see people throwing beer from the right, I guess water and stuff, and people get totally excited for the game.
Q. On the ball that Miguel hit off the top of the wall what did you see? Did you think it was a home run?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: When he hit it, yes. Especially as big guy as he is, he hits the ball like that, so he totally, I thought it was out of the park. But it hit the top of the wall and came back and I was on deck. I was pretty far to see if it was a home run or not. So I guess the umpire made the right call. Maybe it hit the top and it dropped back. I mean that's how it is.
Q. Great bounce?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Yeah, it was. But sometimes you see something strange and sometimes the umpires are right.
Q. Was that a big emotional swing to have the game almost be tied and then not be tied?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Yeah, definitely. I mean you're going to go to the ninth inning and in a tie game. It totally changed the game. But it plays like that, when this happened, it's in the past and we just got to keep on going.
Q. Can you talk about Johan Santana's performance.
RAMON HERNANDEZ: He might have got a little bit excited. Might have tried to do too much. Because you got a lot of people in the stands yelling and you get all excited, and I mean, he might have been a little wild. But after that he got back in the groove and he got out of those innings.
Q. Talk about what it's like to face their lineup one after another after another.
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Tough. It's tough. You see the lineup and it's a bunch of guys, number one through nine, they're all hitting three or four on each team, each of their teams. And when you have a lineup like that, anybody can beat you. It's totally more intensity and it's more, you got to think twice more. Sometimes.
Q. The last at-bat by Ortiz, what were you guys trying to do?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: I was trying to get something down and away, a breaking ball down out of the strike zone. But it worked out to when it got to 3-2 and our pitcher threw a breaking ball, left it a little bit up and he hit it out.
Q. Would you be shocked if you didn't see them again at least once in this tournament?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: Hopefully they will do this again. I think when you do this it makes people happy in the stadium. Especially people who like baseball. I think that we, I got the luck that I am a part of this and I'm happy for this. Because I heard it's going to be every four years, like soccer or something.
So hopefully they keep doing this type of tournament because you meet players from all the countries that we would never see and you might learn a lot of stuff or from other players that you never met before.
Q. Would you be surprised if you didn't face that team again in this tournament?
RAMON HERNANDEZ: No, I want to face them again. You know me. Because I know it's going to be a big crowd and they beat us today and hopefully we'll face each other down the road and we're going to go today like we did, try to go out and play the game hard and try to beat them.

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