Blue Jays speak ahead of Game 1 of World Series

Blue Jays speak ahead of Game 1 of World Series

question for Ross. We’ll start with Ben for rows back on your left. Hi Ben. Um wondering what went into the roster decisions as far as getting uh I’ll repeat that. Wondering what went into the roster decisions um as far as getting Bo Bashette on first off and then putting Ty France on um with Lfito and Yuriel coming off. Yeah, I mean the bow one uh relatively straightforward just based on talent and health and felt like he was uh in a good enough position to help our team and make us better. Tai’s been working tirelessly since his injury. He’s gotten back to an incredible pos position physically. Uh has looked really good in all of his live at bats and as a good matchup uh against this team and that you know contributed to the decision to keep the extra pitcher off. And how’s George doing physically right now? Great. You know, he’s he’s battled through a lot all year and um you know, I think he could articulate better, but we feel like he’s in a a strong enough position to contri continue to be an incredible contributor. Other questions for Ross? We’ll go to the second row on your right. Thought we were going to wrap it up after we needed Ross. Hey, Ross. Um, obviously MLSSC moved the start times of the Leafs and Raptors games this weekend and on to uh as well as Monday and Tuesday’s games. Were there conversations with MLSSC or is that just like a nice surprise for you? Uh, not with me. Uh, there there may I’m sure there were with uh Mark Shapyro and Marne Starkman and and others that I I didn’t have those. Also, uh, since you became GM of the Blue Jays, you’ve often spoken about the importance of bringing in personnel who are high character, good values kind of folks. This year’s Blue Jays, a lot has been made about their resilience and their togetherness. Do you see that as a payoff of that policy of putting an emphasis on high character people? I’ve I’ve always um been taught and and learned and uh believe strongly that hiring and identification of whether it be players, coaches, scouts, uh anyone that’s helping support the organization, that hiring is the most important thing we do. And if you do that with values that are important to you, then over time that’s going to pay off for you. Third row on your left, Ross Jordan. Ross, uh, John Schneider’s talked about the last year with Max Scherzer and kind of the ups and downs of that and the payoff in the last round. What has your perspective been watching Max be a part of this team from when you first signed him to, you know, having that moment in the last round? Yeah, I I don’t I’m not sure that um, you know, I could describe it better than what happened on the field. you know that, you know, seeing that competitive nature come out the way it did. I can’t I can’t describe it better than what we saw on TV. But it has been incredible to be around him under the hood in our clubhouse and to see how he prepares, how he helps others prepare, how he processes information and as it relates to getting ready for winning a baseball game. And then just how important that is to him at this level in his career and how real that is has a massive impact on our environment. fourth row on your left. Shy. Hey, Ross. Can you describe some of the conversations that you guys had, factors you considered in deciding to use B at second base coming back from this uh challenges he faces in that transition? What got you guys to the comfort level to to make that choice? Yeah, I mean, it was more about what we were seeing and then talking about upside downside. Um, and then I think the most important interactions were those with with Bo and just how he was responding and feeling um his confidence level in um hitting that top gear and what that could mean once adrenaline factors in and you know ultimately our confidence in his hands, his athleticism, uh his instincts that was the easy part. And just uh from a bigger picture offensively, uh the past couple of offseasons we’ve had conversations about how you guys were going to look at different elements of the offense. You guys have also obviously put an emphasis on contact. What are some of the factors in taking some of the contact that you guys have had and this year turning that into contact with damage that’s led to a productive offense? Yeah, you know, it’s interesting. the the most damage that we added in the off season wasn’t a uh as integral into our season was uh a piece of the equation in the playoffs and Anthony Santandere but um you know we always have believed in this group we have said that a long time and the players that are here and Alejandro Kirk and obviously Vlatty and obviously George and um they’ve continued to get better they’ve continued to make adjustments with the league league and we’ve always felt that contact would turn into more damage and this year it did. Standing in the back left, Mitch. Hey Ross, uh you haven’t been shown like in games on uh TV that much in your time here, but they’ve they’ve cut to you in the front office a couple times during this run uh after the DS, after the CS showing you celebrating. What has this run and kind of those moments been like for you? It’s um it it’s obviously um very powerful and I you know John Schneider and I were just talking about it. I think the the the thing that I think about the most is the relationships uh the people that we have hired and the people that we have grown with together. And I’ve always felt there’s a big group of people here that I’m working with that will for sure be lifelong uh relationships and lifelong friendships. And this success uh albeit not done with work to to do um not just this year but well beyond I think just emboldens those that feeling of how powerful these relationships will be. Gabe in the fourth row closer to the middle. Oh hey Ross. What was it like from your perspective watching uh Trey’s climb up the system this year? And at what point did you kind of feel like he was a realistic shot at at being a part of all this? Uh pretty, you know, pretty early. I I would say um probably in that transition from Vancouver to New Hampshire, that Aball doubleA transition, as you could see, he was moving pretty quickly and um you know, we we could the the strikeout rate is just undeniable. the weapons and the unique nature of them was undeniable and he just he just made the decision for us. Standing in the back left, Tyler Ross, a couple of your deals brought in everyday guys who were known for defense, Andre Jimenez and and Dalton Varo and you took on a lot of money with Jimenez and you gave up a lot of talent for Varo. What was the driving force behind defense defensive oriented players um and those deals? Um, you know, we we talk about both sides of the ball all the time. We also felt that those guys are good offensive players, really good base runners. So, the the complete nature of those players, what was so attractive, uh, I, you know, I, yes, his defense exceptionally important to us. Absolutely. Uh but you know for us it’s always about the complete player and u maybe we have hedged a little bit more into uh or just placing more value in defense uh subconsciously. Uh but for us it’s always been about the the whole player and and what that means and how it impacts our ability to win. Standing on the left Mike. Hey Ross. Um, you mentioned Schneider and um, he was part of the deal when you got when you guys got here, but you obviously saw something in him to to progress him up through the ranks. Is it significant to have a Blue Jay’s lifer like that in the seat that he’s in? Yeah. Uh, beyond the obvious reasons of the relationships and what it means to him to be a Blue Jay, those are th that has an impact. um you know impact for others coming into the organization that sense and feel that uh you know I but I but I also think it’s it’s exceptionally powerful for all of those coming behind them. Um it you know really important to us that people that we are developing from within. We have to be open to hiring from other organizations and other fields as well. But that uh is very powerful to to us and we feel it’s powerful to others in the organization. And just to follow up on Shai’s question about Bo, um what what was the equation that made it more palatable for you guys to use Bo at second over putting Springer in the outfield? Well, that’s one game, so we’ll see um how the other six unfold or however many we play. Go to Rob on the left. Ross. Hey, Ross. It’s It’s taken you some time to have the type of sustained playoff run that you had hoped for and always expected. Um, with some near misses and some disappointments along the way. How gratifying is it for you personally and for your for your staff to to get to this point? I I mean, the things I talked about, the relationships, and you know, this I I’ve had this conversation with our players that this group has won a ton together. So over the last five years, they’ve won more than anyone in the AL East other than the Yankees and it’s very close um you know very high up in the American League and how much this group has won over the last five years. We have had some crash landings that have been very difficult for us all the fans um us and the organizations to stomach. Um yeah, but I’m yeah I’m exceptionally happy for our players and our staff to be sitting where we are today. standing in the back left. Jamie, where you’re concerned personally, Ross, as you walk the streets of this city, are you finding people a little more friendly than in past years? It’s always been great. I’ve I’ve never had um anything but positive uh interactions. I mean, I’ve had a couple of um entertaining in uh interactions that maybe they were were were throwing some jabs, but I’ve never had anything but just respect. I think I think people love the Blue Jays so much and I feel that and sometimes I feel maybe that they’re wanting a little bit more, but it’s always been very respectful. Second row, you’re right, Ross. Hey, Ross. Just another question about Trey. A lot has been made about his confidence and poise on the mound. I’m just curious back to when you guys were looking at him in the draft, what kind of reports were you getting from scouts about his makeup and how much did that play a factor into where you decided to take him? Yeah, it’s interesting. You know, you never take a player where that’s a concern. Um, you know, guys that are being taken in the first round usually are dominating, usually are performing at such high levels that the makeup reports are always pretty good. you know, it’s going to be, yeah, this guy’s a bulldog. He’s a warrior. He works his tail off and never backs down from a challenge, but then the game gets faster and the talent gets higher and the stages are bigger and that exposes some things. So, if we had the magic formula to tell you that Trey Savage was going to be able to handle this when we acquired him, um, we probably would have had a lot more success prior to today. You know, there’s there there’s just, you know, you just don’t you never know and it’s a very the hardest thing to to evaluate in my opinion. So, you evaluate process and work preparation, how they deal with failure. Uh, but handling an environment like he’s handled the way he has, I don’t I don’t think anyone could can determine. Do a couple last quick ones. Shai Ross, understanding you may not want to necessarily praise a team you’re going to go up against in the World Series, but what are some of the things that the Dodgers do organizationally that you look at and think that that’s driving their success? I’m interested in learning how they got about to that. Yeah, I mean, there’s a a open-minded nature. A Andrew has also um kept a lot of staff members around. There is a a commitment to his people and obviously starts with their ownership and they have continued to build upon really good resources and those are all things I would say the Blue Jays are trying to do as well. I do think that continuity is exceptionally powerful for organizations like Cleveland, like Milwaukee, like Tampa. Even when a leader is lost, you’re usually building from within so that you can build upon the good decision- makingaking tools that you have. You can build upon the values that you have. And um it’s the the big changes where it gets hard to to repeat success. We’ll finish up with Ron. the contact hitting that you have, the lack of strikeouts, how conscience of a decision was it to go after players who make contact and how much was a philosophy put in place of in the day-to-day training of them? Yeah, vary. Yeah, it was uh it’s something we felt played in the playoffs against really good pitching. And what was the impetus and when did you as an organization make a decision to concentrate on that? Discussion turns into research and research turns into decisions. How many years ago? Uh four probably five. Yeah. I know Ross has to be somewhere but we’ll finish it right here. Um you extended Alejandra K to a five-year deal this season. How important has he become to this organization? I I mean I I I can’t say enough about Alejandro and to say how important um you know it’s it’s it’s incredible very uh very important the way that he is handling our pitching staff that position controlling the running game calling the not just receiving but keeping the ball in front of him the decision making and then to be hitting fourth or fifth in our lineup. and very effectively. I mean, I Yeah, it’s it’s that is a massive massive impact on our ability to win. Ross, thanks so much. Congratulations. Thank you. Appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Bob Bashette will be in here at four o’clock. What’s going on, man? See? Yeah. Okay. Right. Yeah. Similar. I uh got in yesterday and then was here I was trying to land the plane on and crank it out. I just, you know, I’m not viewing down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What I’m saying is that most of the time I was out there just Yeah. I was down for some players very briefly. grab a couple things that I needed, but wasn’t I was briefly a player. Right. Yeah. So I rest the car in Buffalo and that’s actually going to LA aftertorney. Metro investigation as well. Although Yeah. Yeah. on this on this. Okay. Yeah, for three and four. Yeah, mine’s dirty, too. I just um um late morning on Sunday. Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine. Yeah, because I’ll have a car there, too. Yeah, I mean it’s not like I’m going to have to park right now. um like very briefly at midway. Yeah. When I was I was having trouble finding that part of the calcul. the main box. I’m not Now if you remember 07 behind the blade. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A lot more. I can’t remember what business Yeah. All right, we will get started with Bo. Uh, if you have a question, uh, just raise your hand. We’ll start with Lindsay in the second row right up front. Hey Bo, I think a lot of people are excited to see that you’re in the lineup, but the last time you played, as you know, was a regular season in September. What are your emotions that the first game in several weeks is game one of the World Series? Um, yeah, it’s crazy. Um, but, um, I’m looking forward to the challenge and at the end of the day, I’ve been working my whole life for this. So, um, yeah, I’m just excited for it. Five us back on your left, Ben. Hey, Bo. I’m sure you’re excited to take the field with all your teammates, but Vlatty in particular, you’ve played with for so long. What will it mean for you to take the field alongside him uh tonight? Yeah, it’ll be special. Um it’ll kind of be like the old days just on the other side of the field um playing next to him and and uh being next to him. But um yeah, just so excited and obviously what he’s done this postseason so far is so special and uh I’m just I’m just really thrilled to be a part of it. fourth row. You’re right, Bo. Hey, Bo. Um, to be on the other side of the field, right, a place you haven’t played in in seven years. What goes into the change for you to be on the other side of the bag and to be able to handle that, especially in the World Series? Yeah. Um, I mean, I think every part of this is a challenge. Um, but I think it would be even if I had been playing. Um, you know, the World Series is a different animal. So, um, luckily I’ve had a lot of time in my life at second base. Um, so I have some experience there and I mean I I feel ready to contribute there. And just as far as where you are hitting wise, you can only do so much, right? Even when sim games and high velocity and and all of that stuff to be able to stand in there now against some of the best pitchers in the world. How how are you feeling? How’s your swing feeling? Um, I’ve been able to get a lot of good work in, but I mean, honestly, I’m leaning on a a whole life’s work of um, swings and at bats that, you know, have all been dedicated to being ready for this moment. So, um, I feel ready and, uh, ready to get there. I’m super excited. Stay in the same row with David. Hey, Bo. As you try to adjust to the nuance of second base at the major league level, have you leaned on anyone in particular? Well, luckily our team is full of a bunch of great defenders um and guys who have played second base at a high level. So, um definitely I mean I’ve talked to Ernie, um Isaiah, um obviously Andres. Um but yeah, I’ve definitely um sought out everybody’s opinion on everything and uh just trying to be ready for any potential situation that maybe I’m not typically um used to handling. Fifth row in the left center, Jamie. Bo, do you mind giving us some insight as to how the conversation went with respect to this new position? Was it as simple as, “Hey, you want to play second?” Um, to be honest, I brought it up. Um, it was something that I felt like I could get ready for quicker than um another position. And um I just want to be ready to help the team in any any way that is uh afforded to me. So, um, that felt like an opportunity for me and, you know, obviously they were, uh, on board with it. One row ahead, Bo Gab. Hey, Bo. Uh, to what extent are you feeling relief, uh, from the standpoint that you’re good enough to go and that you’re not going to miss this entire run that these guys have gone on? Yeah. Um, this has been obviously on my mind the entire run. Um, just trying to get as healthy as I could be and as ready as I could be for this. I mean, I thought at one point it might be the the ALCS, but um, once that wasn’t, you know, the opportunity that I had, I turned my attention to hopefully have an opportunity to be here for this. And, uh, yeah, I mean, I don’t know if relief is the the word, but I’m definitely um, super blessed and grateful to have this opportunity. Definitely. first row on your left bow. Ron, how limited is the agility of the knee right now as it comes back and how did that factor into the decision moving to second? Um, I think if anybody had doubts that I could do my job there, I wouldn’t be playing there. So, um, I feel good about where I’m at. But is it a full level where if needed you could play short stop? Well, I haven’t seen ground balls there yet, but I’m sure that over the course of the series, that’s something that we would um we would see about. Go to Jordan in the third row on your left. Bo, how have you how have you balanced during this postseason run the desire to get back versus the experience of watching your teammates go through this? Have you been able to enjoy watching or have you been just so focused on on the work behind the scenes to get back? Um, you know, I think I mean it was a challenging experience for me for sure. Um, but as much as I prioritized getting healthy, I also prioritized like staying staying with the group. Um, taking time to hang out with the guys in the clubhouse. Um, and then making sure that my work was done before I got, you know, before the game started and so I was able to be as locked in as possible in the dugout and um, you know, try and watch the game and and stay involved that way. So yeah, it was definitely a challenging experience, but I I think I uh I handled it to the best of my ability. Last row in the middle. Jamie, I apologize if this was addressed yesterday, but do you recall as a younger man your introduction to the World Series either in person or on television? Yeah. Um it was asked yesterday, but um I would say my the the first World Series I remember was probably 2004. So um I mean the first series I probably remember is the Red Sox Yankee series. Um but the first World Series was that Cardinals Red Sox. Go to Barry in the third row. Hey man, how are you? Good. How you doing? Good. So if you put a gauge on it, are you close to 100%. Are you, you know, what is your 100% of 70%? Where are you? I don’t know about a percentage, but I know I’m good enough to play. So um and I feel good enough to produce. And so I mean that’s that’s all that uh that’s all that matters to me. I assume your mother and father are going to be here too. They will be. Yeah. Standing in the back left. Jake, um, when you think back to New Hampshire, you know, 2018, you and Vlad and and Schneider, what are the feelings that go through your head? Um, a long road. Um, it was, uh, I mean, it’s something that we all talked about getting to this point, having an opportunity to win a World Series from the moment we met each other. Um, so you know, we’ve had our ups and downs and we’ve had high points and low points and um, to get to this point and have the opportunity to, you know, chase a dream is special and it makes it more special to do with them. And then what has changed about Schneider over the years? Well, I think he’s always um, he’s always had a gift of being a manager. I think uh, you know, he creates good relationship with the players. Um, I think the thing that he has taken the biggest step forward in this year is really trusting everybody on the roster. I think it’s um, it’s easy to trust Vlatty obviously, but the every single person who stepped in the clubhouse this year, I feel he’s given an opportunity to and not only trusted to produce, but expected to produce. And, you know, I think that’s probably one of the biggest reasons we’re here. Third row on your left, Bo. Hey, hey, bro. Um, how will all of this any of this influence your thinking uh as a free agent? I mean, I’ve been here my entire career. Um, worked really hard to to build a winning culture. Um, not alone, of course, with some people that are really close to me. So, um, yeah. I mean, I I’ve said it before, my goal is to stay here for, um, for my entire career, but right now I don’t have time to think about that. It’s, uh, I got to go out there and do everything I can to help the team win. One row ahead. Uh, Bo, you were introduced, uh, pregame in the other series, uh, to start the series, but you’re going to be able to run out on the field uh, with your teammates. U,, how are you going to take that all in tonight? Yeah, I’ll do my best to enjoy it. Um, I’m not going to lie, I’ve thought about it. um you know seeing how excited the fan base is and the love they have for everybody um I’ve definitely thought about that so it um it’ll be a special moment. Fourth on your right boat Mike. Hey Bo, several of your teammates over the course of the last couple months have said that it was your home run in Texas that turned the season around um that pinch hit two-run shot in the ninth inning. Do you look back on that? Did you feel at the time like it was as big as it was going to be? and and in retrospect now, do you see that as well? Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, if they say that it had a big part in it, then, you know, maybe it did. I think there’s so many different scenarios that you could look to throughout the season, big moments, big hits, um that had a huge part in us, maybe getting out of a rut or or continuing a hot streak or whatever it is. So, um I think for me personally, it was a big moment, but uh you know, I’m I’m not sure if that’s a a pinpoint you could point to on, you know, our season turning around. And uh after game seven, I was talking to Kevin Gosman and he said of all the Blue Jays teams that he’s been on, um which is only a couple more than you, this is the one that he thinks he sort of expected the least from starting the season and he’s surprised that this is the one that got to the World Series. Uh, how do you think about that about this team relative to like the 2123 teams that you were on? I’ve played on some incredibly talented teams. Um, and this is no different. This is a very talented team with a lot of great players. Um, I would say the difference is we’re just a a team in every sense of the word. Um, the way we play the game, the way we love on each other, um, want the best for each other, play for each other. Um, so I mean I think that’s the biggest difference and and probably being around this group has been the biggest lesson for me in my career and and looking around and and understanding that this is what a team is and this is what you know we should be striving to create every single season. Couple last one second row on your right. Hey Bo, you guys have faced a lot of top end starters this year and fared pretty well at times including in the playoffs. What do you think it is about this offense that allows you guys to have success against some of the top starters in in baseball? I think the compete level, um, never giving in. Um, competing with two strikes is huge. I think we do that obviously very well. Um, and like I said, we have a we have a ton of talent, a lot of guys that have done some really cool things in this game. Um, and we’ll definitely lean on those guys this series. But yeah, I think just the the ability to compete, never give in, I think that does wonders for any team. Last row on your left, Bo Shai. Hey, Bo. Every team in baseball talks about trying to create the type of team dynamic that you guys have uh spoken about all season long. As you think back at some of the ways you managed to create that bond, is there anything you can pull from that to try and do this again next year? Like or lessons that you can draw like this is how you put it together to create what you guys have had this season? Yeah, I mean, I think there’s a ton of guys in that locker room that have the um the resume to have egos, um want to be the hero, all of that kind of stuff. And I think yeah, I mean, I think as as long as your best players are are down to do whatever it takes to win and um there’s no ego behind that, I don’t see any reason that that can’t be created again. One or two last ones for Bo. All right, Bo. Congratulations on making the World Series. Great to see you. All right, guys. Thank you. Our next item in here will be John Schneider at 4:45. Still haven’t genetics. Thank you. Thanks a lot. That was the craziest man. We just got lucky. like we kind of like we did in the back curtain because the prime minister had everything shut off and we were like in a no back. So he was like well you can come in this curtain but doing a massive favor right now and I had no idea buy this a massive favor and I’m like oh this is where everyone’s going to be like 5 minutes. So just walked right up to showing and got the elbows up and waited for it all to happen. Yeah, it was pretty cool. I got to thank that security’s coming in here, right? Yeah. Yeah. Just like in like 35 minutes. Oh yeah. Yeah. They may be SC. Are we just Yes, we I’ll just come in near the thermostat. I think I can. 70 Rogers and Vlad are the only ones of Canadian. Yes. No, nobody. Matt brashes in this. No Matt brashes. Oh, yeah. That’s Kegan. I got a kick out of what you refer to us as the Julie of the day. The bear fathers or something. Yeah, she’s she needs to be raised. Needs to be hardened. I haven’t seen her yet today. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Everything. Please heat. Heat. Heat. You got this. Oh, sorry. longer. I was just not going back. I can get it ready, but now I’ll head straight to the Okay. You want me to send you a text when he’s done? Okay. Yeah. Just sit here and Yeah. Yeah. Well, I I went up and saw where you’re sitting and they’re like, “Yeah, Keith’s down there right by that microphone.” Yeah. What is that? They have a microphone. They do. Oh, that’s them that does that. That’s media. The so and so. Oh, I didn’t know that. All right. Yeah, I think they are too. Very short leash up there right now. Very short. Subtle. All right. Also, I need to talk. All right. Perfect. So great. Oh yeah. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. Hey, Okay. That was hilarious. Unfortunately, It’s impossible. Same thing. Sweet. post. Okay. too early. So yeah, fair enough. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Feel it. Hello. I know. He’s here. Get ready. Heat. Heat. Thank you. over here. Yes, of course. Actually, it would be fun to to hunt down Marina. I remember sitting with him and his brother was playing for the Brazilian uh national team in WCC on Brooklyn when they had the one of the qualifiers. the qualifiers. Yeah, that and I sat in the stands with them uh for a couple of days to write a column. happens. It is real happens. Yeah, she was very nice. She resilient. She’s a soft So he comes by all this very honestly though. Oh yeah. Between mother and father. Yeah. Well, I could be in any one of the 300 boxes. You buck five on the way from the main box for the dogs box. It just keeps going. So, it’s on the same level. That’s one level. I think there’s another level below, too. Cuz apparently there’s an upstairs football box, too. Yeah. But are they using that? Yeah, I’m sure they’re using all of it. Yeah. Qualified or even that? No, no, no. I’m I’m out. Um I know, but what I’m saying, there’s a football box above where we are. Second floor. Yeah, there’s another one. Yeah, I think um you didn’t qualify for that either. I think that’s actually the third level cuz there’s, you know, there’s a lot of people out where I’m at. Is it the same kind of box or is it a makeshift box? Sort of in between. I’m not going there. So, Even if I just stayed in the rest for deps, you know, working positioning me in the in the dining room. Okay, that’s a different story. Like I usually don’t really care and I don’t get worked up about that sort of thing for the most part, but being in the dining room is a different kind of ball game. And then but rather than being out in right field, left field there, you know, which is like in the upper deck, I mean, which is ridiculous. I’m not going out there. Well, see that that that one that shift disappointed me because like with the Dodger Stadium because the main one is so tiny and as you know the the dining area is just total chaos. Being at the one right above it, it was great. I had no problem with that. I don’t know how many worlds. A ton of them. Yeah. But like being out by the that shift I wish I wish we had not done that. So there was rather than so on the NLCS there was he had a seat sign for BBWA but he put me in in the diner. So I go well this. I’m just taking the BBWA which I did. I mean I’m BPWA there for why are you giving why are you signing that but not but not signing me there. So he comes by after the first game and he go he taps me on the shoulder goes whose city you say? So I go, “It’s a BPW seat. I’m just taking it.” I go, “You have any problem with that?” “No, no, you’re great. Fine.” He says, “I told him, you know, you’re not going to go out to the uh to the to, you know, to the remote.” So I said, “Fuck, you know, I’m 73 years old. I’m not going out to my DBWA number 30.” you know, it should have some sort of scenario, right? No. And and the NFL does a very good job with this where like the Jerry Eisenbergs of the world like they always get prime position because like when you’re there for 75 years, you earn it. Exactly. Well, there’s no football right the football association. True. But a lot of it, you know, the NFL, my point is the NFL does a good job taking care of those people without having to be prodded. I like the final. Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. You were You were there for that one? Yeah. Yeah. I missed the second round. First round. Second round. I didn’t go to Vegas. So, you just did the Mercury game then, right? Oh, so that’s that’s an easy home game for you then. Yeah, exactly. So I did the two games in that series, but I I’ve got about close to half their schedule during the regular season and you know it’s just the whole league is so backwards in how it does it’s the work they don’t man women are great everyone I’ve talked to and they all want to do more right but you know but but they’re all under wraps You know, you used to be able to go in the locker room. You can’t go in the locker room anymore. They they give you a couple. It’s like exposure. What? What are you doing? This is a league that needs the exposure situation. I was just going to say baseball. Okay. Yeah, pretty much do the reverse bet. contractary and let them lock them out really should be paid like a man but I mean really started during the playoffs And you know this one they had her signing and they paid her like $80,000 $75,000 for the rest of the year. you know, looking at it going this is like I’ve never seen more money in the year 2025 that should not be making it. this group of players that’s reunited. Well, this is my business. and because you Yes, please. I don’t know who that was. Not that one. right now. No, he doesn’t need any She’s still short. So I saw some All those headset. Electronition. There you go. I’m not sure. Okay. I think the next couple You know what’s funny? She wasn’t in Philly. She wasn’t in Philly. Um, she should be here because they’re she’s the youngest. I think she’s the two boys. All right, we’ll get started with John who has the first question. All right, we’ll start with Jordan in the third row on your left, John. Hey, John. Hey. Thinking about Trey over this past year, do you have any like what was your interaction with him during spring training? Is was he even someone that was I don’t know if he was officially in big league camp, but what were your earliest interactions with uh with Trey? Yeah, officially was not in big league camp. Um, I think it was one of those, “Hey, nice to meet you, kid.” You know, welcome to the organization. Um, wasn’t very extensive, I can tell you that. Um, but a lot more extensive since he’s been here. So, he’s he’s been on quite the journey, you know, quite the uh ascension of the of the levels if if you will. But, um, getting to know him a little bit here in the past month or so. Confident guy. Um, pretty adaptable, pretty aware of what’s going on around him. go up front with David then Ben. Hey John, yesterday you said you were working through the decision on Bo, whether at second base, shorts stop. What did you see from him yesterday that made the decision clear in your head? Just kind of how he was moving around, you know, and his comfort level with it. you know, he was pretty open with me about just, hey, I can do this if need be, you know, both with in terms of kind of taking a little bit of um the physicality of the game off of him and looking at what he’s doing at short, too. So, it’s kind of a back and forth just to, you know, play second at first. Um, and him being open to it, you know, with me was kind of all I needed to hear. I’ve seen him do it, you know, albeit minor leagues, you know, a few years ago or number of years ago. Um, but as long as he was moving around fine and um, you know, physically felt okay, you felt good about putting him there. Stay there with Ben. Um, just wondering, Ty France is on the roster. Loito came off. How do you envision using Ty France? I think, you know, it’s a bat off the bench probably, you know, um just looking at kind of the lefties in their bullpen and how we think going into the series our our best way to help generate some runs, you know. Um Tai has been working his tail off in between and I think looks pretty damn good hitting. Um, I know you guys all haven’t seen that, you know, in real time, but, um, even when we acquired Tai, you know, he’s he’s a professional hitter, so it was, uh, it was kind of easy based on the the number of lefties that they’re going to have in their bullpen. Um, as well, what was the point that he got kind of fully healthy from the oblique? It was probably two weeks after it happened to be, maybe 10 days, two weeks. um he didn’t miss much, you know, he didn’t I think he took maybe like four or five days off of swinging um from the initial injury. So, he’s been getting after it for a while. Go to the second row on your left, John. Hey, John. Hey. Uh what do you like about the one-two punch of Yavage today and then Gossman tomorrow? I think kind of for one, how they’ve been pitching, you know what I mean? Um and how they can handle right and left-handed hitters. This is a really really good lineup we’re going against. uh especially at the top of the order obviously and um it’s stuff that can hopefully combat that you know and suppress some damage. So, you’re looking at matchups and you’re looking at how often a team has seen Trey. Um, which in this case is is not, which, you know, I like, we like, you know, that that part of it too. And, uh, you know, the rest and the recovery factor for everyone else, but it’s a similar arsenal, but their pitches do very, very different things from different angles. So, um, try to get out of the gate quickly with those two. Third row straight ahead. Hi, John. Uh, do you have any pregame superstitions, rituals that have kind of worked for you so far throughout the playoffs that you’re going to take into the World Series now? Yeah, absolutely. Um, starts with the route that I take into the field. Um, I’ve been walking quite a bit, which is, um, I drove a lot last year because of our record. Um, I didn’t want to be seen too much, so it’s an easy walk for me. Um, plus my wife and kids have the, you know, they she keeps the car in the afternoon, so same route. um coffee in the morning, same time, and um a few more that are a little bit more um intricate at the field. Um in terms of what color, what what right, left you’re putting on first. Um what watch I’m wearing. Um I got a lot. I’m I’m I’m out there. Got a mic two rows behind. Don’t forget the candle. Candle, too. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, as far as Bo goes, what goes into that calculation between preferring a compromised Bo at second base to a compromised George in the outfield? I think just talking to both of them and seeing what kind of where they both are, you know, um, perfect world. I think what George has done from the DH spot obviously speaks for itself. You know, both performance, comfort, all that kind of stuff. Um, no one feels 100% right now. That’s just that’s just where we are. Um, and we always joke that no one really cares if you don’t feel 100%. But I think just trying to play the game how we’ve always played it. You know, if you want to take someone out at a certain point, who’s that going to be for what reason? Um, and just trying to keep everyone in the best possible spot to have success. And as far as Bo goes, he told us that he came to you and said, “Hey, I’ll play second base.” What was that conversation like? Kind of just like that. I think once he felt like he was getting pretty close, um especially swinging the bat, that’s when he kind of said, “Hey, I’m I want a part of this, you know, he’s seeing how Andreas is playing it short, too.” You know, and um for him to do that says a lot about him, you know. I think Bo is obviously been a big part of our team. He’s been a big part of our year this year with the production and playing every day. Um, but for him to kind of say that and and kind of take a step back and while while he’s watching us play just say, “Hey, I’ll I’m willing to do whatever it takes even though he’s been the shortstop here for six years.” Um, says a lot about him. So, it made it that much easier, I think. And knowing that he was feeling that much better physically uh to kind of tackle anything. So, um, conversation was pretty direct, you know, and pretty pretty honest. And, um, Bo’s been that way this entire year, um, more so than I’ve ever seen him, which is awesome. Second row front. Hey John, how are you? Good. How you doing? Great. Uh, is there anything you take out of what you did against the Yankees this year facing the Dodgers? I mean, they had a fairly formidable pitching staff that you beat the hell out of here in the ALDS and now you’re facing the Dodgers who have been pretty formidable. Uh, is there anything that’s comparable in how how you scout and what you do against the two teams? Uh, a little bit maybe. You know, I feel like we’ve been facing good pitching all year for whatever reason, whether it’s NL West coming in here, NL East, AL East, AL Central. Uh, I think that we do a really good job of preparing um, accordingly, you know. So, these guys, you know, big name guys, big-time stuff. Uh, similar to the Yankees. Yeah, for sure. similar to a lot of teams that we face. So to me and you know the coaches kind of every game is a is you know there’s seven one game series basically is how we’re looking at it. So every night is going to be a different way to go about it. I think that we have the roster and personnel flexibility to do that differently every night. Um contact is kind of how we’re built. You know putting the ball in play, making pitchers work. I feel like we did a really good job of that against the Yankees. uh top guys and we’re going to have to do it against these guys. You know, I think what you saw against the Yankees was some extra slug, you know. Um and if that happens, great. But I think that each one of these guys is going to be a different task every single night. I don’t have the microphone anymore, but just a follow up on the contact. How’s your analytics translate to you guys doing contact when that’s such the antithesis of what’s going on between analytics and slugging around the rest of baseball. I think we kind of looked at it, you know, when you look at our everyday players, Bo, Vlad, George, Kirky, right? Guys that have been here for a while. um they all can hit, you know, they all hit for a relatively high average for the most part. Um and they all have really good bat-to- ball skills. So I think when you look at that, um we kind of leaned into it a little bit. You know, you and you look, I think we’re hitting 296 in the postseason as a team and I think the rest of the league is around 220, 218, something like that. Um when we hired Pop and Lou, we kind we kind of said we wanted to be a very um diversified offense and know which club to take out of your bag in any situation. So we we knew we had guys that made contact. We surrounded those guys with guys that can that do make contact. You know, the bottom of the order, the glue guys, the Ernie, the Miles, the Izzies, whoever it may be. Um, so I think we can give pitching staffs different looks and um, being able to score in multiple ways is big for us. You know, not waiting around for a three- run homer. If that happens, great. That’s kind of, you know, icing on the cake, if you will. But I think that we’ve kind of zigged where the the industry is zagged a little bit to where putting the ball in play is is pretty important. Fourth throw on your left, Tyler, then Jason. John, what are some of your standout World Series memories as a kid watching um you know, watching this event and how much do you remember about the 92 93 Blue Jays? Yeah, that one stands out. You know, for a guy growing up in the Northeast in New Jersey and you know, Joe Carter against the Phils, you know, that that stands out to me for sure. Um, every every World Series stands out to me whether I’m this is the first time I’m here doing this, but um, you’re always watching and it’s just the mountaintop of your sport and your profession. So, I mean, going back to like the Rangers and the Cardinals, those crazy games. Um, you feel like there’s always some crazy ones, you know, but I so many jump into my mind really. Um, and they kind of all get jumbled up a little bit, but I think when you have walk-off hits, 2001, Arizona, New York, that stands out. Walk-off homer stands out. Um, it seems like there’s always a moment in any one of these games. Um, it’s pretty cool to be a part of. Stay there with Jason. Hey, John. Um, Bo has been out for a month and a half. Uh, it it seems difficult to then get dropped into a World Series game. What have you done? uh to try to get him up to game speed um at the you know when he’s up to bat and were there certain defensive boxes that you needed to see him check like turning a double play from the other side of the field? Uh the the offensive part he’s been it’s been kind of a slow drip, you know, even since when the when the DS started, we had a lot of live pitchers back here throwing and um he’s been hitting for a couple weeks off live pitching. So, you feel good about that. Bo is, I think, one of the most talented hitters, you know, act like hitters in the game in terms of bat to ball, in terms of having a knack to drive guys in, um, hitting pitches that not everyone can hit. So, that part you feel good about. And then talking to him with where his timing was, you know, you go, “Okay, I think he’s ready.” You know, is it hard to do? Hell yeah. I mean, this is not easy. You know what I mean? I think if there’s anyone can do it, it’s him. you know, you can probably drag him off vacation this off seasonason and say, “Go get ahead. He’s probably the guy to do it.” So, um, that was part of it. The defensive part, um, you know, again, it’s been a kind of a slow buildup to this. And if he wasn’t comfortable, we wouldn’t put him on the roster, you know, and I think just with who he is in the organization, um, I trust him. I trust his feedback that he’s given me, too. So there was a couple check marks, you know, between base running and and defense, and he hit him. So here we go. The two last ones, Jordan. John, we talked to Bo about how he views you as a manager evolving since he played for you in the minor leagues. How do you self-evaluate the difference between Schneid’s the manager today at the World Series and, you know, New Hampshire, Vancouver, Lancing, and so on? Um, this is going to sound funny. I think I’m closer to Schnides in the minor leagues right now than I’ve ever been. Um, this job is hard. This job takes reps. It takes me up. It takes having success to get to where you are. Um, I went into this year kind of just saying to myself, I’m going to be the authentic version of myself and I’m going to let it rip, you know. And I think one of my biggest strengths is communicating with players and staff. And when you start this job, you know, you’re trying to please everybody, right? I mean, I always say that, you know, you’re everyone’s answering to someone unless you’re Edward Rogers, you know what I mean? So, um, you’re trying to appease a lot of people and I think I got caught up in that a little bit. So, right now, I feel like Schneider’s the dude that grew up with these guys riding the buses and and just kind of being one of them. at the same time understanding that there’s a certain expectation that I that I bring to the field every day from these guys. They get it. Um but I feel like I’ve I’ve evolved a ton um in just three years on this job. We’ll finish up with Mike. That was sort of where I was going as well when Bo talked to us. He said that he feels like this year you’ve shown greater trust in everybody across the board. Do do you feel that way as well? Yeah. Yeah. And I’ve always felt that way, you know, and I I think that when you get so um immersed in how hard this game can be and trying to do the right thing and trying to objectively match up, um you lose sight of people sometimes, you know, and I’ve been guilty of that. And at the end of the day, it’s, you know, the one sign I have in my office, you guys have seen it, is the man in the arena, you know, like who do you want in the arena? you know, numbers are tools and they’re definitely helpful. Um, but when you talk to the guys and you you make time to kind of see where they’re at mentally, um, I think it goes a long way, you know, and and again, I’ve said it this entire year, this entire postseason, I trust every single guy on my team. Um, without a question, you know, and sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t, but I I trust every single one of them. And I think the more they feel that, the more free they can go out and play. You said when you got hired that this was the job that you’ve been working your entire career for. And now that you you sit here now, um, how much more difficult has it been than than you anticipated? What, you know, you’ve talked about you now versus you then, but back then you thought you had a handle on it. And how does that guy look now? That guy a couple years ago um, looks different than what I thought he would look like, if that makes sense. Um, this is where, you know, one organization 24 years, right? So, when I say you want to manage, yeah, you want to manage a team you’re working for in the minor leagues. To have it come to fruition has been amazing. Um, what comes with it, honestly, I probably wasn’t ready for um all in real time, whether it was interm first year. So, um I think the guy right now is the guy that um everyone has been waiting for, myself included, you know what I mean, to be honest with you. And I don’t want that to sound, you know, selfish or conceited or or anything. That’s just me being real. Um so, it’s been it’s been fun. It’s been it’s been horrible at times. I mean, I got gray beard, gray hair, I’m losing hair, but um it’s exactly where I want it to be, you know what I mean? And I think you have to just go through it. So, um happy that people have stuck with me, players, front office, staff, you guys. Um but just happy that you know you you get a chance to kind of learn in real time. Shots enjoyed night. Best of luck. Thank you guys. Uh, next up will be 5:15 with the Blue Jays. Very, very talk to you. Okay. I’m impressed. How are you? Right. He wants to touch. Yeah, you really Oh, yeah. Angels. like the loosest connection, you know, you’re sitting right just probably and this team is closing off. They can like never fixed it. A lot of talent, right? Take it over the top. Better, right? Right. Come full circle, but probably won’t do it. And uh Get out. Good job. I took I took a nap at 8 a.m. I think I am going to go on the field, but I’ll see you out there. Okay. Tony Clark. I would like DIY. Sure. For sure. Thanks a lot. Arizona. What? Oh, guys. Given your character, I mean your job. I couldn’t sleep. John I have yesterday. Yes. Yeah, I missed a finishing. Yeah. And I’m watching I am broadcast. way too much in the Sure. So I mean that’s like I don’t like About five years ago, I was still Yeah. Yeah. All right, we’ll get started with Kevin who has the first question. We’ll start in the second row on your left, Kevin. Hey, Kev. Congratulations. Um, how does it feel finally getting to pitch in a World Series game? Yeah, I mean it’s exciting. And um you know, I’ve played over 12 years now to you know, every year you go into the season with the hope that you’re one of the last two teams playing. Um you know, that just hasn’t been the reality for me. And um I’m just really excited for this group and and for myself. Um you know, it’s it’s uh it’s been a a crazy ride and and now we’re here and we’re excited to kind of show the world what the Blue Jays are all about. Stay in the same row. Kevin, uh, a few years ago, I remember you were in the same room and and you were talking about at the end of, uh, the 2022 season, you said, you know, we have to learn how to win and you guys are in the World Series. Uh, just take me a bit through the journey of the past few years and and what it’s been like to to stay in Toronto. Yeah, I mean, really, this is the reason why I came here. Um, looking at the roster years ago, uh, after the 21 season, I believe they had the best offense in baseball in 21. Um, and that definitely excited me, uh, being a pitcher. So, um, but really kind of looking at the names, um, on the roster, knowing that, you know, all those guys I felt like were going to be here for a while and really kind of had the the foundation of of being really good and and also having George um being kind of the veteran leader. um you know and also you know just just looking at um yeah the pitchers that they already had Bereos and um you know Monoa and so I mean there was a lot to like and and that’s ultimately why I came here um you know first couple years were were rough and and heartbreaking um you know to get swept you know backto-back years in the postseason in the log card was was tough and and last year was even tougher um cuz I felt like we were a really good team, but um just didn’t play very well and we all just kind of got punched in the face and um I felt like the organization did a really great job of looking internally while also kind of figuring out moves they needed to make. Uh and I mean hats off to them for doing everything that they have to get us to this point and it’s taken a lot of different people. Third row on your left, Jordan. Kevin, having thrown the splitter for as long as you have, uh, what have you observed about that pitch becoming a lot more popular across the league? And what has it been like having a couple guys join your team this year that have relied on heavily in in Hoffman and you Savage? Yeah, it’s fun. I mean, I think back even to 21 when I signed with the Giants um, and they kind of told me, “We want you to be a a two- pitch guy with your secondary pitch at the time being a pitch that 90% of the league didn’t even throw.” Um, and I kind of thought they were crazy to be honest. Um, and didn’t know kind of why they thought it would work, but um, really, you know, then I was having a great spring and then COVID happened. And really was kind of the perfect scenario. It was like, I’m only going to make 10 starts. I feel pretty confident that I’ll still be able to get a job um, even if this goes south. And I mean I was three starts in and I was I was like I’m never going to pitch any different than this, you know, and um had faced a lot of guys that I faced really early in my career, but I was a completely different pitcher now. And so it was really kind of fun for me to see that pitch just grow and get better and better the more I threw it. And and now it’s a pitch that um man, a lot of guys throw and and it’s a good pitch when it’s on. I think it’s the best in baseball when it’s on. So, um, it’s been really fun to see and we’re going to see a lot of them this series for sure. Stay in the same spot with Chelsea. Hey Kevin, you kind of talked about it. You’ve been on really good teams that didn’t get here for whatever reason. What, now that you’re here, have you come to any conclusions about what it takes to have a good team that can also win when it needs to like this? I mean, this is only my first World Series, so I really can’t I feel like I can’t say that much about um about it, but um you know, the two the two best teams that I’ve been on were the 21 Giants and and this season. Um and when I think back to those two teams, um a lot of things had to click. Um you know, especially the Giants, like 21, I think everybody pic picked us to finish last and then OS and we won 108 games. So, you know, it just seemed like every kind of move that Kappler made that year worked and um there was a lot of times where he would make a move in the dugout and everybody kind of wouldn’t agree with it, but it somehow worked. And so, you know, it it just kind of got to a point where everybody believed and and that’s kind of this the same feeling here is the belief in each other that um you know, no matter what the score is, no matter who we’re playing, we feel like we have a chance. Last straight back, Mike. Kev, is there a measure of revenge here for you? You talked about that 21 Giants scene. The Dodgers knocked you out in in the first round. Um, is it is it nice for you to have another shot at them? Um, yeah, for sure. You know, but, uh, I would feel the same way if we were playing anybody, you know, I want to win. Doesn’t matter who’s who’s over there. Um, you know, I still think about the check swing on Wilmer Flores. I don’t think it was a swing, but um you know, that’s kind of water under the bridge. But um and Max was pitching in that game. So, you know, it’s it’s kind of full circle now. I’ve got to know Max on a personal level, on a professional level. And um I mean, what a what an unbelievable career he has had. And um if you’ve spent any time around him, like he is a baseball mind. He doesn’t stop. It’s non-stop. And um there’s definitely times I have to kind of distance myself from him at times because he’s just go go go all the time. Um but no, I think I would have the same feeling if I was playing anybody. It it sounds like that Wilmer is water under the bridge already. But um for Bo, having him back, what does this mean after he’s been out for seven weeks, he’s missed this whole run? What’s it mean to you to have him back? Yeah, I mean it’s really cool. I think um there was a group of us that uh when we made the postseason um kind of went to Bo and said, you know, we’re doing everything we can to see you play again this year. And so we’re just really happy that he’s able to be out there and, you know, hats off to him. He’s done so much. I mean, he’s been here every single day so early, you know, multiple treatments throughout one day and really testing it. um had some bad days, had some great days, and so um you know, you really got to give all the credit in the world to him and the training staff for even making this a possibility. Um you know, I’m really excited for Bo. Obviously, he’s been a huge part of this organization for a long time. So, if he wasn’t out there, I’d be heartbroken for him. So, it’s really it’s really I’m really happy for him and and really excited to see him go out and, you know, do what he’s done. I mean, he’s when he’s healthy, when he’s in the batters box, he’s one of the hardest guys in baseball to get out. Um, you know, and I’m just excited to watch him go do his thing. We’ll stay in the same spot in the back. Hi. Um, when you signed it with the Jays in back in 2021, what kind of idea you had to Jay’s in Toronto and Canada and how you think this um what this series mean to Canada? Yeah, I mean, you know, really signing here, I didn’t necessarily understand um one team for an entire country. You know, now I’ve been here for four years, I really I really understand how much they love us, how much they support us, how much they want us to succeed. And you know, if you play well in Toronto, um you know, as you’ve seen all those guys from the 15 16 teams coming back throwing up the first pitch, like those guys are legends, you know, so um I think this city really loves their athletes and especially if you give them something to be proud of. So, you know, we’re ecstatic the love that they give us. You know, we feel it out there and um they’ve turned this place into, you know, such a crazy environment, such a fun place to come to work every day. And um really, you drive around the city right now, you know, it’s electric. Everybody’s talking about the Blue Jays and um they’re fired up for us and and we’re excited to go out and put on a good show, good show for them. Up front your left. Kev Ron, how many pitches into a start do you feel that a pitch is really working that night? Jeez, if I knew that answer, I feel like uh it would be a lot easier to navigate. Um, you know, uh, as a pitcher, you work, you know, especially as a starter, we have the luxury where we get a lot of time before the game to kind of figure out what we have on that day. Um, you know, for me, I only have three pitches, so you know, they all got to be on, honestly. So, you know, I don’t have the luxury of having a lot of different pitches that, hey, this pitch isn’t isn’t it for today. I got to throw this pitch. Um, you know, but I just um I guess it’s kind of a feel thing, you know, you feel out the game, you know. I definitely have games where early in the game I know like I’m going to throw a lot of splits tonight. Like the split is just coming out really well. Um, for me, I get a blister on my middle finger. And so, usually the bigger the blister early on in the game, usually the better the split’s going to be. Good serve throw on your left, Jordan. Kevin, do you remember interacting with Trey at all in spring training? I know he wasn’t in in big league camp, but did you share any moments with him in spring? And what was your reaction when you kind of were following his journey and found out he was going to be helping the big league team? Well, I didn’t meet him until he showed up in Tampa. Um, you know, I know we were in the same building, but um, yeah, I never saw him throw. You know, I’ve seen videos of him throwing. Um, and what a unique like delivery. That’s the first thing you kind of notice right off the bat is he looks a little different than most guys. Um, but yeah, I mean, really kind of the first time I watched him throw was his bullpen in Tampa. Um, getting ready for his first major league start. Um, and like I said, it was kind of the same thing. You’re watching and it’s just like, man, that’s that’s a little different. Um, you know, and then if you know anything about metrics and looking at, you know, an iPad, you know that his stuff is is a lot different than most guys. And I mean, his fast ball is elite. His slider is a is a huge difference maker. It’s really hard. Um, you know, and I think the biggest thing with his slider is, you know, his bad slider is a really good split. So, I I think people don’t realize that. And I think it’s almost like he’s two throwing two different splits. One’s at 88 to 90. Um, and one’s kind of 83 to 86, you know, and so it’s kind of pick your poison. And then he’s got a really good elite fast ball. I mean, he’s he’s throwing 22 in vert with, you know, two, three horizontal like from straight over the top. Um, so I think it’s just a different look, you know, and um, I’m really excited to watch him do his thing tonight. We’ll finish up with Joe in the last row on your left. Kev, was it a no-brainer for you and for the club to back you off and allow Trey give you the extra rest and have Trey go game one? What was that process like? Yeah, I mean, uh, I wouldn’t say it was a slam dunk, but um, you know, I’m better the more days you give me. So, um, you know, I think that had something to do with it, but I think also it’s about kind of keeping him, you know, locked in. Um, not trying to mess with his routine too much. um you know this does kind of line him up for this day. Uh you know but um yeah I think maybe if if I would have I think if I would have thrown maybe less pitches um and maybe not such a high leverage position game seven then then maybe maybe it would have been a different conversation. But um you know I knew kind of that maybe pitching game seven was was not I wasn’t going to be ready for game one. But in my mind, I was completely fine with that because you have to get here first, you know, and we have a lot of great pitchers. So, I feel pretty confident with with any of the four or five guys to start game one. Kevin, enjoyed the night. Thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it. Uh Dave Roberts should be down in a couple minutes. Imagine doing this for sure. Thank you. It was just like Oh, Okay, turn on the Whoa. last year. 90%. They’re like four oz. So it’s like at least They basically got rid of the program. I like talking. Right. Vegetarians. understand. serious. 5 minutes so I can be out in front of the Yeah, like I said, Everybody’s got She’s perfect. Right. is really hours. There’s always something LA. Sorry. Sorry. All the characters are in place. It’s just like Why are there I didn’t realize that I Freddy’s. All right, we’ll get started with Doc and we’ll start with Kirsten up front. Dave, yesterday when in honestly the last few weeks of talking to Blakes now, he’s talked about just how much information he likes to take in before each start, what have you learned from him in his pitching style as information he likes to take in as he prepares for his outing that kind of maybe stands out to him stands out to you about him that maybe you didn’t know before managing him? Um, I I think I’ve learned that uh he does a good job with his homework. Um, he has his own process. uh very well prepared but takes in information from you know you know Mark and uh the catchers and but uh really is is very well prepared and he understands how much he needs versus being overloaded cross the right up front. Hi Dave. With all the reasons that your team has for wanting to win another World Series, do you think the Alex Vessia situation is another reason this team is going to play for him right now? Um, you know, it’s certainly uh on our hearts. Um, and uh we miss him and we’ll be thinking about him and certainly uh you know, he’s a part of this. Um, and it’s just even more motivation. Yes. And right in the next row, hey Dave, um during the celebration after winning last year’s World Series, you you said, “Let’s get ready to run this thing back.” Now, this is that opportunity, that first day where you’re trying to run it back. Describe the pressure you feel right now. Uh none, none whatsoever. Uh I I I think that uh you know, right now, you know, our only focus is winning tonight. And uh I mean that wholeheartedly. Uh that’s the only thing that we care about right now. And so, um, it’s a big game. Um, it’s going to be a fun crowd. Our guys are prepared. Um, you know, and that’s something I said certainly close to a year ago and we’re in a position to do that. But, you know, we got to win four games. So, right now, you know, let’s take care of business and then we’ll see where it all falls out. Fourth row on your left. Doc Sonia. Dave, I just wanted to clarify Vesia being off the roster. Is he out for the World Series at this point? You know what? I I think Sonia, that’s probably the most likely uh you know, unless something unforeseen happens, that’s kind of where what we’re uh anticipating. And um you know, obviously the human side of this is kind of bigger than the baseball side, but he’s been used in so many big situations for you. How do you kind of replace that with your current bullpen? Yeah, we have we have a lot of uh you know viable options and um I I don’t know what situation uh will present itself, but I trust all the guys. I really do and guys are going to have to step up, but Alex is certainly going to be missed. We’ll stay over there with Jack. Just one more to clarify on that. Did you guys consider putting him on like the family medical leave list at all or was it just he wasn’t going to be able to come back even if you did do that? Um I I think we exhausted a couple different options, but just considering, you know, obviously what he’s going through and and you know, baseball’s certainly on the back burner. So I I just think that’s kind of the right, you know, process. I think that we as an organization was probably the best way to handle it. And and to be quite honest, I I don’t know a lot of what went into it. And then the this Blue Jays lineup has the lowest whiff rate in the postseason. Your rotation has the highest. like how do you see that dynamic playing out and does it alter what your pitchers kind of need to do to to keep having the success they’ve had this month? Um doesn’t alter. Um they’re aggressive early. Um then with two strikes they they find a way to put the ball in play. Um we’ve got to make quality pitches early in the count. That’s kind of what it boils down to. Go to Kirstston. Just with going with uh Will Klene putting Edgardo Enriquez back on the roster, what have you been seeing from Will, whether during the stay hot time in between um series, what have you been seeing from him? And then what do you like about Edgardo in this matchup? Um well, I I I like Will because uh it’s a plus fast ball. Uh it’s a good curveball, good slider, and um he’s uh it’s something that these guys haven’t seen. Um, and then Edgardo, it’s velocity. It It’s a slider. It’s a sinker. U, there’s a cut fast ball in there. And so, uh, you know, just something to continue to try to keep a couple of those right-hand hitters at bay. Go to the fourth row on your left, Fabian. Yeah, Dave, sort of following up on that. I mean, Vlad is such a big presence in that lineup. How much pressure does this put on you guys finding some more success out of your right-handed relievers? Uh it it’s it’s yeah, it’s certainly uh you know, one of the uh the best hitters in the game. Um swinging a hot bat. Um I I think what it comes down to is trying to get those guys out in front of them. You know, if if Vlad comes up with guys in scoring position, guys on base, then it certainly makes any a job for any pitcher tough. Um so you just got to really lock in on those first couple guys and try to keep guys off base uh when he comes up to bat. And then just as a baseball observer, when did uh Trey Savage first pop up on your radar and how remarkable was it for a guy like that for that few big league starts to be starting game one of a World Series? Yeah, I think it was against the Yankees. Um uh just seeing the the stuff the the the split, kind of learning about it. Um he’s got a good way about him, a confidence, and that’s the first I heard of him. The two last ones, Jake on your left, uh no Tener Scott on the roster. Uh was that a medical related decision or performance related? More medical. More medical. Um you know the medical has uh you know not allowed for him to have the the ramp up and as he’s thrown a couple bullpens it just wasn’t quite there. And so I think that for us you know the cost of potential you know injury um and and betting on the upside of how quick this thing came about. I think it’s just ultimately it’s just bad timing unfortunately. All right, Dave, thanks so much. Enjoy nights. Appreciate it. Andrew is on his way. All right. Right. Right. All right, Andrew. Thanks for making the time. Who is the first question? We’ll start with Kirsten up front to your left. Andrew, I know our thoughts are with um Alex Bessie and his family at the moment. When you look at just keeping it to baseball, when you look at this bullpin, he obviously has been a very key high leverage arm for this group. Without him, how do you see things someone either stepping in in that role? And what do you like about just Will Klein being added as well as Edgardo um being back with the group in the bullpen? Yeah. Um, we feel really good about our relievers in terms of the righty, lefty, the different looks, uh, the stuff that we’ll bring out. Obviously, it comes down to execution and those guys feeling confident to go in in the lanes that Doc, Mark, Danny kind of figure out and for them to just trust to flood the zone. If we’re able to do that, I think they will be really successful. And so, it comes down to execution. Um, but feel good about the group. Edgardo, uh, and Will for us, just their pitch mix, how it matched up against their hitters, felt like gave us more margin for error in different ways and different ways to match up that we felt like fit our group really well. One behind. Hey, Andrew. Um, given the fact that you had the luxury, I guess it is, to to slow play snow while he was on the injured list, how much is having that extra time and and being able to do things while he was on the IIL translate to what what he’s doing in the postseason now? Yeah, I mean, a lot’s been made about us slow playing. I don’t know how much it was slow playing verse there’s a lot of unknowns about injuries. like we’re not going to sit here and pretend we know what exactly causes them and the buildup to get back. For us, it’s about getting back to stay back. And so, it’s imperfect and it’s much more art than science. And so, we just heer a little bit more on the side of caution to give ourselves a better chance of when they come back to stay back. Um, and the work that he put in along the way, um, obviously was great, but I think more than anything, he loves these moments. He talked about it in the off seasonason, he talked about it in spring training, he’s talked about it all year. He loves these moments. And so whether we took a little extra time, not, whether he missed any time, I think his him being dialed right now is the least surprising thing to us. and the fact that you had him at Tampa Bay. Um the the prior knowledge you had of him that how much confidence did that give you that in signing him that okay this is going to be our our guy in October? Yeah. I mean, I guess it gets it how long I’ve been doing this because knowing him as an 18-year-old and then watching that maturation through the minor leagues to the big leagues, this the success he had winning a sai the World Series in 20 getting traded to San Diego and whenever we’d play them, we’d always spend some time together and catch up and just watching that maturation uh year over year over year in terms of how he saw the game, the desire to compete, the desire to win and just each year I’d walk away from those interactions like wow this is getting way more advanced and uh really really impressive and then last off season going into the off season he was you know our number one priority and sitting down with him and getting even more insight into the way that his mind works um just how badly he wants to be a part of winning World Series and um you know just strengthened our belief in what a great fit he was even more. Two rows are directly behind the glass. Pete Andrew, you guys do everything you can to try to win a World Series and and people are saying, you know, it’s you’re ruining baseball. What do you make of people saying that because all you’re trying to do is win a championship. Yeah. I mean, for us, it is all about our incredible fans and us giving back. What they bring night in and night out. the passion that they show uh for the Dodgers. Now, this is my 11th season and even on the road, the number of Dodger fans that are there and just the love that they have for this team. Our job is to pour ourselves back into it and try to, you know, give them a team that can compete for championships and that they can be proud of. And for us, that’s our focus. Everything for us is about pouring back into our fans and that partnership that we have with them. So, you know, that’s our focus. So, anything else that comes from it, obviously, I’ve heard a lot of it, it’s just not front of mind for us because everything is around how do we put ourselves in the best position to win now and also to win in the future. Just across the aisle, Tyler Andrew, you’ve had seasons where you guys absolutely dominated the regular season and came up short in October. And last year, you won it all and this year you’re dominating again. Was there a a sort of philosophical shift at all to try to build a team that can win and be at peak strength now versus maybe like May 15th or something? No. I mean, I think you always want to be peing and playing your best baseball in October. I don’t know that we have a formula or a thought of really how to do that. That is definitely the goal of what you want. Um, you know, last year we had success in October in a very different way. So, I think every team kind of takes on its own identity. I think there are a lot of different ways to win a World Series. Um, clearly you have to be really talented. You also have to have some good fortune. And for us, it’s putting ourselves in the best position we can to have good fortune kind of fall with a lot of different, you know, outs and different ways that we can go um to try to create that. So, you always want to be playing well in October. I don’t know that we have this like, hey, let’s just take our foot off in the regular season and then step on it. I know it’s what it looks like, but it wasn’t anything conscious. up front on your right, Gabe. Uh you guys just by getting here have gotten a lot closer than any team that’s tried to repeat in the last quarter century. What have you learned about that? Is there can you be deliberate about the way you go about trying to repeat, especially when with regard to how much you run it back versus trying to integrate new pieces into the mix so it doesn’t get stale? Yeah, I mean it’s certainly hard as we can uh all attest to by watching over the last 25 years um with the number of kind of unique champions each year and and no one repeating. But you know, for us when we won last year, you know, our focus and meetings were all about, okay, how do we win in 2025? And there were two big risk factors that we had kind of seen looking back. One is complacency. You’ve reached the top of the mountain, you’re less hungry. I didn’t worry about that with our group. And the second is usually to win 11 or 13 games in October, you have to really step on your pitching to do it. And it’s a longer season and you come back faster. we mixed our you know we just didn’t have that starting pitching in the depth that we do right now last year. So we didn’t necessarily we weren’t going to encounter that. And so for us it was about how do we add some guys that are really hungry to our group that will be really hungry to to do everything they can to win that final game of the season. And again, it ties back to Blake um and just how much he wants this as well. Standing in the back left, Andrew Shy. Hey, Andrew. I’m wondering as you’ve watched the Blue Jays operate in recent years in different facets of market, baseball ops, player development, things of that nature. Uh is there anything that they do that has stuck out to you that you feel is a part of their success? Yeah, I mean I think uh Mark and and Ross have done a tremendous job here and I think you know going back for us one big thing probably our largest kind of focal point and biggest goal was to try to create a destination spot where our own players didn’t want to leave and where players from other teams wanted to come and I think invariably we find ourselves going up against the Blue Jays a lot in different uh ways and they have created that as well. I think um you know they’ve done a really good job with their facilities, the way they communicate, how they help get the most out of players. I think they’ve done a tremendous job and so for them to be here is not surprising at all to me. Go to Jack over there. One quick one on Alex. Not putting him on the family list. Is that just because you didn’t anticipate he’d be available to pitch in the series? Yeah, I mean we just would didn’t want to have any potential for any kind of pressure. Um, you know, this is so much bigger than baseball and for us it was doing whatever small part we could to just 100% be supportive. And then only five franchises have won three titles in a six-year period. If you guys win this year, do you think about what it would mean for just the legacy of what you guys have built here? Have you even thought about that at all? What’s that? No, I mean I think one of our overarching goals is to try to uh you know whenever the time comes and we get fired and is that people look back on this period as a golden age of Dodger baseball which is a high bar. Um what exactly it means, how it slots, life’s too busy. Um, that’ll be more uh when we’re done, but that’s our goal is to for people to look back on this time period and say that was the golden era of Dodger baseball. Fourth row in your far right, Andrew. Andrew, you mentioned the word identity. Uh, what would you say the identity of this team is? Um, I think just a relentless desire to compete and win. watching the work that they do every single day on the field, underneath, uh the conversations that are had. It’s guys challenging each other to do everything they can to go out and win a baseball game that day. And watching the work, the focus, the intent with how much they all care for one another has been really special to watch. Bill in the third row straight ahead. Yeah, Andrew, uh Dave yesterday mentioned with the starting pitching, the plan is always to have them at their best on October 1st. How does that plan change when you lose Snell for four months, Glasnau for two and a half, and you’re kind of piecing together a rotation for a while there? How does it change the plan? How do you adjust? Well, I mean, our biggest thing is obviously looking back, we’ve had years where we’ve had a lot of injuries and in some of those instances, it’s season ending, it’s end of the next season. The injuries for the most part that we faced this year were injuries that we could forecast that guys were coming back. And so now it was okay with each individual guy. It was a we have the depth to try to withstand this right now, but with each individual player returning was doing the best we could to lay out the most thoughtful progression rehab plan to get them back to stay back, but also to be hitting their stride and the stuff and execution in place going into October. Jake in the third row on your left, uh, you mentioned earlier Blake being your guys’s number one priority this past offseason. You know, obviously the offseason prior to that, he had a lot of trouble on the open market, securing the deal that he was looking for. Did something change about him fundamentally that made him a more attractive pitcher in your eyes between the offseason heading into 23 or heading into 24 and heading into 25, the year he was with the Giants? No, I mean I think what he did with the Giants, especially in the second half, he’s always a guy that, you know, and we talked about this at the initial press conference where people think of him looking back as not having great command. I think it is more that he is just really hard to hit and so he would have longer prolonged at bats, foul balls, but something clicked for him that year in San Francisco where just flooding the zone and getting ahead and just the radical difference that that uh created because then he’s able to eat 18 outs, 21 outs and just go deeper into a game. It’s hard to pay a lot for a guy that will go five innings. Um, and so I think that showed uh his ability and really not ability because we believed it was there, but mindset and that growth that came with it. But there’s also a timing element. There’s some off seasons where a guy may fit us really well and he happens to be available. Other times where it’s not as good of a fit in that moment. So there’s a lot of moment in time stuff as well. But I will say that that year with the Giants, especially that second half, showed even more growth with what he was doing on the mound. Do a few last ones. Ron up front. Do you and your staff from observing sense that Snell, Glasnau, Sasaki are any sharper or fresher just because of how many fewer competitive innings they had all year? I don’t know how to answer it. Um I think they’re all in a really good spot right now. I mean, Yama went wire to wire and he looks really good as well. Um, I don’t know how to answer that, but feel very fortunate that they’re as dialed in as they are. Uh, and feel good about the group as a whole. Or maybe on the flip side, you’ve been in situations where you got to October and you’ve had a lot of guys who went 32 starts, 190 innings, and you could sense they’re a little worn down with pushing through. Not as much. I mean, it’s been more injury related that we’ve gotten there and them not been there. I think the guys that we’ve had that have gone wire to wire, they’ve been in a good spot. Similar to Yama, um it’s so much, you know, timing and where guys are. And obviously in August or September, if a guy is wearing down, the number one leading cause of injury is fatigue. So if guys are getting fatigued, usually they will then take a break and build back up the strength, but we haven’t really seen that as much. Do two last ones, Russ and then Barry. Russ. Hey Andrew, you talked about making yourself a desirable destination when it comes to player acquisition for you. I know the public looks at the financial aspect, but is there something that stood out that is very important to you when it comes to acquiring players or or is it just putting a winning product on the field? No, I mean, I think there’s a lot that goes into it. I think being known as a really good player development organization, players ask those questions. When we’re meeting with players in the off season, they want to know that you can help maximize their ability and that you’re getting the most out of their teammates because when you can do that and do it well, you tend to win more games. And I think guys desire to win. Um, you know, that’s a really important factor. I think how you treat families. Um, and it’s a challenging life uh with the amount of travel and usually being away from your home city and it’s a challenge for the families and so doing everything we can on our end to make that um as comfortable as they possibly can. So when a guy’s a free agent and is thinking about leaving, we like the wife also saying, “Hey, actually we should stay. It’s so much easier Um, so I I think communication, being honest, having a really strong player development, um, group in place at the major league level, um, and how you treat families and treat the players, I think matters a lot in that. Two last quick ones, Barry, then Tyler. Barry, go ahead. Hey, Andrew. Hey, Barry. So, uh, just to that point, Stan told us yesterday that Sasaki wanted Japanese toilets. You guys gave him Japanese toilets. The Otani wanted an extra batting cage. You gave him an extra batting cage. So that just sort of like exemplifies what you were just talking about. My question is about Doc. I mean, here’s a guy now has got the highest winning percentage practically in basic in major league history for a guy who’s managed as long as he has 10 years and he’s like 369 games over 500. How well has he developed and fit into your system of how you basically want a manager to perform within your baseball operations department? Yeah. I mean, I think it’s our system, uh, not my system. Yeah. Okay. I can’t say enough about Doc. um just the consist consistency, the relentless optimism, his ability to put guys in great spots to succeed. Um and his ability to communicate around that because it’s not always in ways that players want or believe is right. and his ability to lead our group um has been exceptional over these 10 years and um he has been a significant part obviously of you know our success looking back feel very fortunate that he’ll be a significant part of our success going forward um and just what he has meant to this group and how he’s helped lead um through a lot of the ups and downs is no small part in why we’re sitting here. Do you think he’s the the perfect example of the way the manager has to operate in the baseball operation system these days? I don’t know. I think he’s great. I don’t know. I don’t spend much time um laying out, you know, the other 29 and comparing. I know that we are really happy with the partnership we have um and feel great that he’s on our side. I’ll finish up with Tyler fourth row. Yeah, Andrew, just just sort of to play off Ron’s question earlier, when you signed Snell and having Glass Now here and Sasaki, did you expect that they would be able to go wire to wire or did you figure that given their histories and youth that you may need to back them off a little bit to get them strong here? Yeah, I guess we weren’t sure. Um, but it wasn’t something where we were going to be really surprised. I think the whole point of depth is that injuries happen and sometimes they happen in clusters. Ideally, they happen where they’re more spaced out. Um, and the last thing that we want to do is say, “Oh, well, we won 81 games this year because we just didn’t have depth. We had injuries and it was bad luck.” And so it’s trying to be as prepared as we can, not knowing exactly what’s going to happen or when, but to have that depth to help back fill and and keep our heads above water during periods where it’s more clustered. And we went through some periods this year where it’s very clustered, the injuries. Um, so I wouldn’t say we knew it for certain, but we know it’s a possibility and just trying to be as prepared as we can be. All right, Andrew, congrats on the pennant and good luck in the series. Thank you guys. For the Dodgers, Yoshobu Yamamoto will be here in about 10 minutes, so he’ll be closer to 6:15 rather than 6:30. knew where that chair has gone. Knock it up. I’m going to keep you anyway. See if it’s closer. But no, I was because All right, Yoshi Hero. Thank you guys for being here. Who has the first question for Yoshi? Who are we starting with? Yoshi’s a busy guy. Come on. All right, we’ll start with Jack on your left, guys. Yoshi, what’s your impression of the Blue Jays lineup and and what makes them so difficult to navigate? Uh first off, you know, because impression of them for me uh is that they it can shrink I mean keep the lineup moving and then they can hit the home run uh when it when it’s needed. So my I’m thinking you know because the key for me is just that um to keep the fundamental pitching and then not to carrying any uh not much uh runners. Stay in the same row with Fabian. Yeah, the Blue Jays don’t strike out a whole lot. Do you have to change how you attack them any differently than you would a normal lineup just knowing that they don’t tend to strike out? Um it’s not necessary for me um to focus on that part. Um just like I keep my job simple and then just being aggressive and then pound a strike zone. Stay in the same row with Sonia. Yoshobu. Uh, yesterday Blake Snell talked about how he has kind of grown as a pitcher by um adapting his game plan to like how hitters are responding to what he’s throwing. Is Is that something that the two of you have talked about and discussed? I’m sorry. Can you repeat the first part? Sure. Uh, Snell has talked about how he has um kind of grown as a pitcher by adjusting his game plan in game to like how hitters are responding to what he’s throwing. I learned that kind of similar things from you know because not only snail but a lot of different pictures and then I for me it’s like kind of like a normal like a common things for me to do, you know, because I um checked it how, you know, because hitters response respond to my pitches. Do you feel that the rotation just um the Dodgers rotation right now, you all make each other better and is part of it that you can have these kinds of discussions together? We do not um gather spec you know because all together at the same time but you know because uh individually uh we talk about it. Couple others for Yoshino. Yes. Go straight back guys. performance. Uh the question is um he you know Yoshino has been um maintaining a um you know performance at a really high level and then how he’s doing it like a um like his dietary practice or you know something like Right. You know, comp compared to last year, you know, because I’m so um I kind of I have gotten myself acclimated to that. um my daily American lifestyle and then but you know cuz I’ve been doing that so not much difference. Take a couple last ones. Tats on your left Yoshi The question is um yesterday you said um you might you might get um nervous as a game gets close uh game gets close and then how actually do you feel at at this point? Fore um I just take um every game um whether if it’s a uh regular season game or uh like policy is a World Series game. I I just take it um as similar as possible and then right now, you know, because I think I’m in a pretty good position. I mean, mentally good position. Two last questions. Taro on your left, guys. So, um, for the Dodgers, you know, back-to-back, uh, World Series game and for, uh, Clayton Cara, um, this will be the last, uh, World Series for him. And then how’s that chemistry within the team? Thank you. as a team. I think you know cuz we are um prepelling pretty well and you know because uh with a composure and then good energy good vibe and then um for team as a team you know cuz this is a goal you know cuz what we’ve been striving to get to and then since it’s spring training and then for car show um we’d like to uh get this win and then let him have the best way out. One last question for Yoshi. There’s one. All right, Yoshi. Congrats on another NL pennant and good luck. All right, that concludes the pregame for today.

General Manager Ross Atkins, Manager John Schneider and Blue Jays players speak before Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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