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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: TIGERS v RED SOXOctober 15, 2013Lance ParrishDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Three Q. Good to see you again. LANCE PARRISH: Thank you. Q. When you get back into Detroit and you put that hat on, what's the first thing that comes to mind? LANCE PARRISH: Well, this is where I kind of cut my teeth on professional baseball. It has a special place in my heart, obviously, the Detroit Tigers organization, coming back here. This ballpark, to be honest with you, doesn't have as fond of memories for me as Tiger Stadium, obviously. But just being around guys wearing the old English D and putting this hat on brings back some pretty great memories. Q. Have you warmed up at all, or what are you looking forward to for the first pitch? LANCE PARRISH: No, I take my chances and hope I can get it there on the fly. I've had 50 people tell me today not to bounce it, so hopefully that's the case. Q. You've been in Alex Avila's spot catching a postseason rotation. What's the pressure like in postseason games trying to either read what hitters are looking for or trying to get a pitcher through a game where every pitch means so much? LANCE PARRISH: You know, I think the interesting thing for me, it was a lot easier. Well, let me take that back. It's probably easier for these guys now. Obviously when we were in the World Series and the playoffs in '84, I didn't know one thing about the San Diego Padres when we played them in the World Series. This being the League Championship Series, obviously Alex is going to know a significant amount about the Boston Red Sox. He's caught games against them. He's had the opportunity to work all the pitchers with the different hitters in the box. So he's got a pretty good idea how he would like to work them, how the pitchers he's catching would like to work them. Then when they get to the series, there's so much interleague play now they would have to be familiar with the teams in the other league. As I said, when we played the Padres, I didn't know one thing about any of those guys. We went on instincts and I went on different things. We went with the pitcher's strength. Every now and then we'd pull in an advance scout's report and try to pull that in. You just try to put it altogether. But in the end it comes down to what does my pitcher have that's working. What has worked for him all season. There might be one or two guys in the lineup that in certain situations you want to try to avoid trouble with them. But other than that just go at them. Q. When you're watching Sanchez and then Scherzer and now Verlander, does it make you kind of want to strap it back on and get back there and catch those guys? LANCE PARRISH: I tell you what, I was pretty fortunate to catch some pretty good guys in my career, but to have a rotation like these guys have has got to be pretty special. I obviously am pretty biased to who I would like to win this series and the World Series, but to have a pitching staff where everybody you run out there has a chance of pitching a no‑hitter is pretty amazing. So, yeah, I watched Verlander's game out in Oakland and then the last two games against the Red Sox and it's been, wow. So I'm expecting nothing less tonight. I know Boston is a great team and they have a great offense. But I think these guys have stepped their game up to another level. So we'll see what happens. Q. Two questions: One, if you could just catch us up on where you're living, how life is. And also look back at the '84 postseason and what was your fondest memory of it. I don't know if it was everybody running on the field or what? LANCE PARRISH: Well, actually I'm living down in Nashville, Tennessee. I don't know if any of you have listened to my latest album (laughter). No, I wish I could sing. No, my wife and I moved down to Nashville in 2007, I believe, so we've been down there ever since. It's a beautiful place. I love country music, so I'm right at home down there. It's a great family atmosphere. It's a little slower pace than the lifestyle I was used to in Southern California. That's one of the reasons why we got out was to try to slow things down a little bit. I would have moved back to Michigan, but winters are still a little too cold for me here. As far as reflecting back to '84, the memories, to be quite honest with you, yeah, I'll never forget the recording of the last out when that fly ball went to left field and Larry caught it and we were all jumping around on the field. I'd be lying if I said that encounter with Goose Gossage with Gibby ‑‑ in fact, I just watched on TV today him hit his home run off Eckersley in the '88 World Series. The home run he hit off Gossage in '84 was just as amazing, I thought, with the drama and everything involved. That was just ‑‑ it was a fun, highlight type of moment that I can always attach to the '84 World Series. I obviously have some personal memories, as far as what I did. But the thing that really sticks out, that, for me, that Gibby home run kind of made the whole thing. It was a fun moment. Q. You were here when Verlander made his Major League debut in '05 and I think he made another start that year. What do you remember thinking about him when he was obviously at that point in his career trying to get big league hitters out. Did you ever imagine he had the potential to become the pitcher he is now? LANCE PARRISH: Absolutely. I was hoping they'd keep him on the staff the rest of the year. He did come up for a couple of spot starts that year and showed obvious promise. He was high draft pick, very highly touted, very talented guy. You have to start your career at some point in the Major Leagues, and some guys start off with a flurry, some guys sputter a little bit. But you could tell initially right out of the gate that he was somebody that had special stuff. I'm sure the game ‑‑ if I recall, I don't think he won either one of those games, did he? But nevertheless, he was considered then and obviously has lived up to the fact that everybody thought he was going to be very, very special and he certainly is. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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