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MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS DODGERS

November 1, 2017

George Springer

Los Angeles, California - postgame 7

Houston Astros - 5, Los Angeles Dodgers - 1

Q. Congratulations. You never doubted this. We talked about this at Spring Training that this is what this team was capable of doing, through everything, the ups and downs, the hurricane, the injuries, what does it feel like to just be here now?
GEORGE SPRINGER: It's unbelievable. It's indescribable. When you get to spring you know who you have, you see what you have, and there's always that thought of "we could do it" but the 162-plus games is a lot of games. And a lot of things have to go right in order to get here.

And our team believed in each other all year. And through the good times and the bad times, through a rough stretch in August, to getting down 3-2 against a very good New York team. There's a lot of things that happened. And this is -- I'm so happy to be a part of it to bring a championship back, to a city that desperately needed one, is a surreal feeling.

Q. Congratulations on the World Series championship. You were the one who was on the cover of that fateful Sports Illustrated 2014 cover, predicting you would win the 2017 World Series championship. There was also questions about your World Series roster spot, as you came in 3-for-30 in the American League Championship Series. What are your thoughts of you being the MVP of this series, and having the impact of five home runs in the World Series?
GEORGE SPRINGER: It's crazy. I think as a player when things don't start to go well, you tend to press. You tend to do things that you wouldn't normally do. And after the first game I had a talk with Carlos Beltran, and he told me to just go out and kind of enjoy the moment, because he's been playing for 20 years and this is his second time here. He told me to go out and be who you are and kind of enjoy it.

And then I don't really know what to say after that. I'm just extremely happy to be here. And for our team, our organization, our city this is a great day.

Q. The home run today, do you remember vividly hitting it? Do you remember the trip around the bases? Did you black out? Just take us through that.
GEORGE SPRINGER: I remember my plan and my approach was to get something out over the plate, get something I could drive. If I was going to go down, I was going to go down on my own accord. And I just remember swinging and hearing the sound of the bat, and I knew it was a good sound. And then I saw the flight of the ball. And I got to first base and I rounded third, and got home and that's a crazy feeling. It's a very surreal feeling because this is Game 7. This is what you dream of as a kid. And for that to happen is indescribable.

Q. Congratulations and thank you for the great series and the entertainment. Some people said the two teams mirrored each other, like two great boxers maybe going to the last round. At the very end what do you think separated the two teams? What put the Astros on top of the Dodgers?
GEORGE SPRINGER: First and foremost, that's a great team over there. And they can score runs with the best of them and they can stop you from scoring runs, as well. And this was a dogfight. This was as hard a fought series -- it's emotionally draining, physically draining, it took seven games.

But the difference between us and them today was us scoring early. I think being able to put them on their heels early, and not let them attack us was absolutely huge.

Q. Congratulations on the win, first of all. If you could send a message to the Dodgers, it was a great series between two great teams, what would that message be?
GEORGE SPRINGER: Exactly that. This was a great series between two hundred-win teams, two great teams, two great offenses, two great defenses, two great pitching staffs, and two great pens. And the wildness of this series, the wackiness of this series, the emotional ups and downs, being able to play in this is something that I will never, ever forget, even if this is the only time I will ever get here.

And that's a good team over there. I don't expect them to go anywhere anytime soon. I'd expect them to be competing for a world championship for years to come.

Q. How would you say A.J. has gotten you to this point, when to push you, when to prop you up, when to ease the pressure, when he needs to push to get a better performance?
GEORGE SPRINGER: Yeah, he does a great job in figuring out his players, figuring out what makes them work individually. And A.J. to his credit, with me kind of all year just told me to go play. Don't try to do too much. Don't get ahead of yourself. Go out and kind of enjoy the game. And after Game 1 he sent me a text and just said to kind of enjoy this, because this is the best time of our baseball life.

And he stuck with me. He stuck by me. And I will run through a wall for that guy any day.

Q. When you came up in April 2014, one of the things you told us was you weren't really nervous. You compared yourself to a duck kind of staying calm on the surface. Was that how you kind of got through this stretch? Especially after Game 1, when things didn't go really well. Was keeping your nerves at bay and staying calm key for you?
GEORGE SPRINGER: Yeah, a lot of this, for the players, is all about experience. You have to go through it in order to understand kind of what everything is about. And the first game of the World Series obviously wasn't the best game for me, wasn't the best game for anybody. But I learned from it. And I learned how to kind of keep my emotions in check. I learned how to slow my breathing down, slow myself down, because this is a time where it's not just a game in June and then you're going to come back again the next day and play. This is for everything.

And to have that experience in 2015 was obviously big. And to understand that you have to slow yourself down and just kind of enjoy the moment was absolutely key for me.

Q. This is the first year they've named that award after Willie Mays, does it seem appropriate to win it as a centerfielder? And what was the music in the clubhouse selection?
GEORGE SPRINGER: (To A.J. Hinch) Speaking of him, I won't talk bad about him anymore.

Yeah, I used to go in the backyard with my dad and he would hit me fly balls and I'd pretend to be him. I would pretend to be Willie Mays. And to earn this is great. It's an honor. But it's not about me. It's about the team and what the team has done tonight. And I'm just -- I'm extremely happy for the team.

And then also the jams today I can say were on point. I went with my '80s playlist. I got the boys right, obviously. And then once Correa got a hold of it, it ended up being Bad Bunny and stuff. I don't know if you guys know who Bad Bunny is, but I don't know who Bad Bunny is, but I do now. And it was a loose clubhouse. I'm sure he could tell you. It was a lot of fun for us today.

Q. I was just wondering if you wonder why the lenses on your goggles are dark, when it's a night game?
GEORGE SPRINGER: That's a great question for New Era. I have no idea (laughter). Because you don't want to get the champagne in your eyes? I don't know.

Q. Can you see anything?
GEORGE SPRINGER: I can see you pretty good. I can see everybody pretty well, here (laughter).

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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