Bubba Chandler, Pirates, on his four-inning save in his MLB debut

Bubba Chandler, Pirates, on his four-inning save in his MLB debut

for a while, man. How does it feel? It feels great. You know, kind of everything I’ve dreamed of, you know, like I said, past 22 years, it’s just been I wanted to be on a major league field and, you know, whether it was hitting or pitching, just wanted to be in a game and, you know, show what God gave me and I believe I did that. What goes through your mind when when that phone rings and they say, “Hey, get hot.” Oh gosh, a lot really. I mean, just like, oh no, like it’s time to go. like, you know, you can prepare all you want. And you know, me being a starter and coming out of the bullpen today, it’s like not foreign to me. I’ve done it before, but you haven’t done it since spring. So, it’s kind of just like, hey, you know, I stretched around a little bit, got hot, but when they said, hey, you got the next inning, it was like, all right, let’s roll. And that’s what I did. So, when did this day start to feel real? Uh, probably when I ran out. No, that’s why. Um, when I threw my last couple warm-up pitches and, you know, crowd kind of went pretty loud and I was like, “Okay, this is this is it.” But, uh, I don’t know how I threw a strike first pitch, but I did. So, this the spring breakout game a couple years ago, there was the the famous Red Bull chug. Was there one of those before he left the bullpen today? No. No. That there was one probably like the first inning. Okay. I I didn’t know. I knew I was after Braxton with a clean inning, so I didn’t know when that was. You know, he of course he went out there, shoved, but yeah, that was, you know, I think happened the first, maybe even before the first, but I slammed it. All right, let’s go. This is my routine. and this is what I do. So, how’d you feel about your stuff and just the way it that plays here at the major league level? Yeah, I think I you know got got some good results and I think uh I threw a lot of pitches that you know kind of got away from me but at the same time they were they were in zone and they were they were ripped and executed. Um and you know hitting’s hard so you know I try not to over complicate it as much as you know some would but yeah you know that was I threw a lot of good pitches. I threw some pitches I wish I got back. But uh yeah, you know, overall can’t complain about however many innings I threw and you know, been them being scoreless. So, it’s pretty sweet. I know tickets a ticket, but is it any more special that the first couple ones are hundo? Were they? Yeah. Nice. Yeah, I Yeah, I was kind of I I don’t know where I was looking. I was just kind of looking around like I was trying to find my parents and where they were sitting. So, yeah, that was I didn’t really wasn’t paying attention to what was going on. I think the only pitch I looked at was the strike out to Arcia. Yeah. I was like, “Dang, that felt felt good coming out of the hand.” And yeah, it was a great great pitch. So, yeah, they run 100. Nice. What did you think of the crowd tonight? It was great. It was great. You know, everything you can imagine. Um, yeah, like I said, man, when I when they said my name and, you know, major league debut, like this is kind of all I remember and I just blacked out the first inning. But I just kind of heard the place go crazy and I had to turn my pitch com up because I just couldn’t hear what Henry was putting down. But yeah, man, that was that was really cool. It’s something, you know, I’ll never forget and I’ll cherish forever and, you know, want to thank the Pirates for making a dream come true. On the note of Henry, how special was it to have him behind the dish? He’s been huge for the development. Yeah, pretty cool. You know, me and Henry, we go back all the way to 2021. um we live together and you know we kind of always talk about this stays like hey you know whenever the time is like we’re going to you’re going to catch my debut and we’re going to have fun and yeah you know I never been teammates with him till last year in TripleA and you know just kind of the way he goes about stuff man he just like I never shook him once and I I don’t really plan on shaking the guy like what he puts in each day is you know for the fans and media everything like that guy gives it his his all and you know it’s something pitchers really like is our job’s hard enough to go out there and, you know, try to throw a little white ball and place it in an inch big zone, right? Like, you know, just having the comfort of, you know, paint whatever he puts down, you know, there’s thought behind it and, you know, it’s the right pitch. As you thought about your debut, did you ever think that you might end up getting a save in your major league debut? No. Um, yeah. No, it never crossed my mind, you know. Uh, I’ve relieved a couple times, but you I think I’ve started like 80s something games in the minor league. So, you know, you think coming up it’s going to be a, you know, you’re going to be a starter, you’re going to start, but it’s not playing. And, you know, when they told me, hey, you’re coming up, it was cool. I don’t care if I’m the bat boy, if I’m, you know, whatever. Like, I just want to be here and I want to help team win. And, you know, hopefully I did that. I’m sure I’m sure you’ve been waiting since probably June to get your call up. What was it like to to have to deal with maybe the frustration of that? Did you take any of it out there on the mound with you tonight? Yeah, whatever. You know, I don’t you know, you know, the kind of control you can control and you know, it’s I think the Pirates have a plan for every single person in this clubhouse, every single person in the organization. And, you know, like you can complain all you want about everything. But, you know, in the end, I’m here. I’m in the big leagues. You know, there’s not a lot of 22-y old kids that, you know, get to do this. And I’m grateful. You know, I I was mad. Yeah. Whatever. But at the same time, like I didn’t take care of what I need to take care of. So that’s that falls back on me, you know. Now I’m here. Don’t care, you know. Yeah, stress. I guess stress is a big thing. Like never really been a stressed stressed out guy, but you know, have been the past couple months. Just trying to, you know, get here. I mean, did you did you channel some of that into tonight’s performance? No, I just went through, you know, threw one pitch at a time and yeah, I don’t know. I kind of blacked out. I don’t know what I I didn’t know half what was going on until I tried walking off the field after the last out and I remember it’s the last out of the game. I can stay out there, whatever. But, uh, it’s pretty pretty cool. Pretty sweet. You know, I just I don’t care. I’m here so can’t complain. How glad were you to be able to finish it out and be the walk off that mountain with the last? Yeah, that was cool. You know, I was when I count the eighth, I was kind of thinking like, gosh, I really hope they let me go, you know, one more like that would be great. Like I didn’t know it was a save opportunity, but I never really want to finish this thing out. Like that would be that would just be the cherry on top. And when I walked in, Oscar was like, “Hey, one more. Let’s go, guys. Come on.” Yeah, let’s go. But yeah, it was it was pretty cool, you know. Were you were you a little extra hyped up knowing what Braxton was able to do before you? Yeah, you know I think me and Braxton have pretty similar repertoire. So like you know I was watching pretty closely on the TV out there like okay what works what guy like you know they struggle with this struggle with that. So you know it’s kind of I don’t want to say easy but you know Braxton you know the way he is and you know the way his stuff plays like we are similar a little bit. So had a little more calmness and readiness going in the game like hey I know if I throw this here here like they’re going to have a tough time. So shout out Brax. You mentioned being a little stressed. I mean maybe the smiles that give away here but weight off the shoulders at all. Yeah. Oh yeah definitely. You know you spend I mean just like anyone I work every day in my life and you know you try to just be the best you can at whatever it is and you know there’s a lot of times that you know in the offseason or during the season it’s like god this you know this sucks. It’s like where’s the, you know, where’s the light at the end of the tunnel type of thing. And yeah, you know, I found it. So yeah, ready to go see my parents and have fun. Were you ever, were you able to locate them in the crowd at all? No. Gosh, no. Yeah. Freaking pitch clock. Yeah, there was a couple times I think that’s them and then I was like, I think I think they had all my my jerseys on. There was not enough jerseys around them. So they at the end. Yeah, you pointed out to me. So I’m sorry. Is it a little surreal? I mean, I’m sorry. Paul’s jerseys there. You know, Braxton, guys that you have sort of come up with now you guys are here physically. Now that you’re here, do you start sort of think about the possibilities of what this group could do? Yeah, you know, I think I think everyone in this clubhouse is freaking phenomenal what they do. You know, they wouldn’t be here if they if they weren’t. I think the pitchers we have, you know, come to work every day ready to go out there and put up zeros, you know, kind of like we did tonight. And, you know, Braxton is a guy that has battled a ton of injuries and a ton of just crappy stuff. And like you see what he’s doing now. Like he’s a guy that’s going to play for a long, long time. And he’s really good. Paul, I’m not going to give him a star, but no, he’s again like he’s a leader in the clubhouse. He’s a guy that, you know, guys kind of gravitate towards to, you know, you see what he’s doing every week. It’s unbelievable. And, you know, he’s a guy that, you know, works and, you know, you kind of get out what you put in and that’s just kind of the thought is, you know, Mitch, everyone in here is going to be they work as hard as they can and what you put in is what you get out. So, how much do you feel like you can benefit from being around guys like Paul and Mitch in terms of not just your game routine, but also between starts and things like stuff that you can learn about being a major league steady pitcher or in the bowl? Yeah, I think everyone, you know, everyone’s different, but um yeah, I mean Mitch, he’s pitched in big leagues for a long time, but he’s done. He’s done a lot of innings. He’s had a lot of good years. Paul, you hasn’t been here long, but you see what he’s done. I mean, guys like Carmen and Braxton, they’ve been in the position that I’ve been put in now of, you know, starter to leader to longer like can, you know, they they can help me. I talked to Carmen for first inning day like, “Hey, how do you think I should go about, you know, this with my routine, all that stuff?” He’s, “Hey, no, yes, do this, don’t do that.” Like, you know, you don’t want to be too hot. You don’t want to be too cold, like whatever. And he was guys like that. Isaac Matson’s another one that I’ve been teammates with for the past two years that just dog. So, he kind of g me some nice words of wisdom going into the game. And what does it say about you that your your 40th pitch was also 100? you carried that that load into the deep into the story. Yeah. Um I don’t know just I guess something I’ve done well over the years is carry below. It’s kind of something I pride myself on is you know pitch one’s going to be slower than pitch 100. That’s kind of my thought is I want to, you know, be my best version whe at the end of it, whether it’s the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth inning. I want to still be going strong and that’s, you know, what I do throughout the week allows me to do that. That’s

Bubba Chandler talks with the media after tossing a scoreless four-inning save in his major league debut tonight against the Rockies at PNC Park.

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