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AL DIVISION SERIES: RED SOX v ANGELS

October 9, 2009

Bobby Abreu

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Two

MATT McKENDRY: Questions for Bobby Abreu.

Q. Was there someone at some level of your career who influenced you in terms of the batting style that you've adopted this very well documented patient style?
BOBBY ABREU: Well, I've been playing this game for at least like 12 or 13 seasons already, and I've been around with a good players, you know. And that's experience that I suspend with those players to help me out, to take care of my career and help the people. Especially the young guys who came to this game, too. And giving the best advice with these people in the past have give to me. What they showed to me, I tried to pass to them. I just try to give that.
Whatever situation of the game, whatever advice that I can give, like I said before, to these guys I'm just going to do it. So that's what I do pretty much.

Q. Last night when you came up with the man on third base, you walked. In your head is there any kind of a wrestling match going on between the idea of whatever I can do to get this guy in versus you're not going to throw me a strike, I'm going to take that base?
BOBBY ABREU: Well, I was trying to just hit the -- believe it or not, a ground ball, second and short. The infield was playing back. So I was trying to just put the ball in play. Any ground ball to the middle. I didn't try to do too much. I'm just looking for a good pitch to hit. Even I know that he's just going to pitch to me around. But in the meantime be aware if he miss the spot, I'm just going to swing and make a contact just trying to drive that run in.

Q. How soon after you got here, I see you sitting over there next to Figgins in the clubhouse and guys like that. How soon did they start coming to you and saying how do you do this? How do you maintain that patience? What can you give me? How quick was it?
BOBBY ABREU: That was in April, pretty much. Because spring training I was in the World Baseball Classic. I didn't spend time with them in the spring training. But in April when I really spend time every day, they start the second week. You know, they start to came to me and ask me some questions. Like sometimes with our pitcher stayed a long time on the mound and what they need to do, you know, to help them. So I just tell them, you know, sometimes you have to sacrifice or take a lot of pitches, you know, just to help our pitching rest a little bit.
Those guys do a pretty good job. Stuff like this, you know, it's questions that's the kind of questions they ask me about the game. So I just try to just give the best answer.

Q. Why do you think your patience and the way you play is so appreciated by the Yankees and the Angels appreciate it, but it wasn't that way in Philadelphia all the time? Why do you think that is?
BOBBY ABREU: I don't know, man (laughing). I don't know. That's my game, you know. But I don't know. Like you said, the Yankees really appreciate it. I guess they play against more the on-base percentage. Over here they appreciate it because they became to a team that was aggressive last couple of years. And this year they've been more patient and aggressive at the same time, the patience situation in the game.
So the base percentage this year and the Angels team is getting better. So I think they appreciate more that. I don't know why that didn't happen in Philly. I guess it's -- I don't know (laughing).

Q. People used to get upset with you in Philadelphia?
BOBBY ABREU: Yeah, sometimes they want me to swing more the bat or whatever. But I just I swing to strikes. I don't want to swing at any balls. I've got my strike zone and I swing whenever I have to swing. It's not like I'm going to waste my at bat to make somebody happy.

Q. Some of your takes last night particularly against Lester, were very close. At what point are you not swinging because you don't think it's a strike versus you don't think you can hit that ball hard?
BOBBY ABREU: Wow (smiling). That's hard to answer that question because when I'm on the plate, I have a strike zone. I have, for example, yesterday he threw me a couple cutters and if that cutter start, you know, a little middle away, it's going to end the ball. If he throws it right at me, it's going to be in the strike. So I knew that, you know. So sometimes he threw strike fastballs away. So it's hard to tell you, you know how did I know the strike zone very well? How did I know that that ball's going to end the ball.
I just see it like halfway it's going to be low, it's going to be high. You know, it's going to be away and in, I can tell that. But it's hard for me just to explain it.

Q. You knew they were balls?
BOBBY ABREU: Yeah.

Q. Versus like thinking that may be a strike, but I can't hit that?
BOBBY ABREU: I know they're very, very close, you know. But down and away, you know. He threw me some sinkers inside to end it. Especially with like 3-1, he threw me a couple of sinkers inside. So like I said I knew it was going to be a ball.

Q. What's the impact in the clubhouse of a guy like Torii Hunter who pulled out his teammates a few weeks ago in Boston. Backed it up last night. Takes on a leadership role. Is the team's spokesman. What kind of impact does he have among you guys?
BOBBY ABREU: Well, you can see it, the impact that happened yesterday. You see how those guys are playing the game yesterday. Very loose, they play with a lot of confidence. They don't afraid to fail. So that's pretty much what it is.
What he said the other day, you can see it. You can see right now those guys went to the field without a problem. They feel so fresh. Like I said before, a lot of confidence.
So on that, when your leader of the team tells you that, you take it for the good way, you know. You take it with the big responsibility and you just go up there and you know you have a guy behind you, and you know gives some support.

Q. Is it rare for a guy to do that? It seems like many guys may feel the same way, but might be afraid to speak up?
BOBBY ABREU: Probably. Probably, you know. But he's the leader. He's one of those guys, you know, talks, you know. And he said for the nice way and to help the team.

Q. Having experienced what you've experienced here this year, how badly do you want to be back here next year?
BOBBY ABREU: Of course I want to be back. I have a good times over here. This organization, the team, the manager, the owners and the fans, too. They treat me very well over here. I think they really appreciate the job that I've been doing all year round.
Of course, I want to come back. I want to come back. I don't want to go nowhere else. I want to stay with the Angels.

Q. When Torii homered last night, you were running on the pitch. What were you thinking in that situation? And then later on did you say anything to Torii, or did you talk about it?
BOBBY ABREU: What I was -- I took off the second pitch, you know, trying to steal the base. Just so they not going to throw to second, and we could have a runner on second and third. But in the meantime I just heard, you know, the loud. It was loud when he made contact with the bat. When I see it in the air, it was flying.
So I think it was emotion with everybody for Torii. When he was jumping on the play. It was very good. He showed that he cared about it, you know.
After that, we just like take off. Everybody enjoyed part of the team. And when you run the base and that's special when you have a guy behind you like Torii. You can put lot of pressures when you're trying to steal bases and just to make sure, you know -- I'm sorry -- guess, you know, the pitcher makes a mistake on the pitch. I guess what was happened yesterday he just leave a fastball on the middle against Hunter and he hit a homer.

Q. After it became clear that you weren't going to be going back to the Yankees, when you were thinking about what your next team would be, what were some of the things that were really important to you that you wanted in your next team?
BOBBY ABREU: I wanted to be on a team that give me an opportunity to be in the playoff. Give me an opportunity to win the World Series. So I think that's why I picked the Angels.
Believe it or not, some people don't thought they were going to be to win the World Series. Everybody thought it was going to be Yankees, it was going to be St. Louis, you know. But to me they have an opportunity over here to be in the playoffs for a long times, too. And they win the World Series a couple years ago.
So I think to me they have the kind of game plan that I like. Be aggressive on the bases. They play the game loose. And they give me an opportunity to be in the playoffs, so that's what I was looking for.
MATT McKENDRY: Thank you, Bobby.
BOBBY ABREU: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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