NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS VS DODGERS

October 8, 2021

Brandon Crawford

Oracle Park

San Francisco Giants

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. You've obviously been a part of this rivalry for a very long time with the Dodgers. What are your thoughts about now facing them in a playoff series?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I mean, obviously a huge game, a huge series. I think it would have been that way no matter who we were playing. But probably some of the biggest games in this rivalry's history since we've never faced off in the postseason before.

But at the same time, I think we want to go out there and continue to be the same team that we were all season and not really treat this series any differently than we have any other series this year.

Q. Obviously you've been a part of this series since you were even young as a fan, what do you remember, what were your first Giants-Dodgers memory and then what was your welcome to Giants-Dodgers when you actually became a player?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I don't know. I don't remember specific games necessarily as a kid, but I sort of remember Brian Johnson's walk-off homer against the Dodgers. I think I also remember a few games where the Dodgers won, so...

Then what was the other part of the question?

Q. The other part of it was your welcome to Giants-Dodgers once you became a Giant as a player?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I don't know. As a player, I think that throughout the course of the season you treat every game kind of the same no matter who is in the other dugout. So I know that's not necessarily what everybody wants to hear, with the rivalry and everything like that, but as a player, you're out there doing your job, playing baseball, and trying to win the game no matter who is in the other dugout.

So I don't really remember any big moment or anything like that at the start of my career against the Dodgers.

Q. Back to that Dodgers-Giants thing, were you one of those Giants fans who hated the Dodgers?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I was taught at a young age to not like them (smiling.)

But I think, as a baseball fan, I always respected the other team no matter who it was, even if it was the Dodgers. I mean, I liked plenty of players, didn't necessarily ever root for them, but respected them and appreciated some of their players throughout my time as a fan.

Q. You're a veteran. This is kind of old hat for you. What's your sense of the mood in the clubhouse and just your younger teammates, and do you feel the need to like say anything about this moment, which is a big one?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I haven't really felt that need, honestly. I mean, it's kind of the same mood that we've had all year. I think there's probably a little bit more excitement, but I haven't really noticed anybody looking nervous or anxious or anything like that or I might need to talk to them, calm them down a little bit, or anything.

So usually for me that comes around National Anthem time, when you get the butterflies in the stomach. So we'll see around game time, but I haven't really noticed any different vibe or anything like that in the clubhouse.

Q. Having been a rookie or young player in 2012 and 2014 when you went through all this, won the World Series under Bochy, what's the big difference, if any, in the approach that's being taken now under Kapler and this whole crew?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I would say there are plenty of differences, but I think the main one is probably how many different guys are being used nowadays. It seems like our whole roster is, maybe not in one game, but through the course of a few games, our whole roster will probably be used, whether it's a pinch hit or coming out of the bullpen or whatever it may be.

I think probably in like 2012 and 2014 we used kind of the same starting lineup for the most part, maybe an occasional pinch hitter, and kind of the same guys coming out of the bullpen every night. So I think that's probably the biggest difference now and then.

Q. I think we all have a tendency once a player gets past 30 to think that player is going to start to decline. What do you think what you have done and Posey and Belt have said about being able to make those adjustments at mid-30s and continue and maybe even have great years after that?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I mean, I think it's, a big part of it is a testament to our hard work and being able to make changes and stuff like that into our mid-30s and still make adjustments because I feel like no matter how old you are, you have to constantly make adjustments in this game.

But we also have to attribute a lot of that success to our coaching staff and being able to find something that worked for all of us because I think all three of us, not all of them were as obvious as some of my changes that I made, but I think all three of us made some sort of change, even if it was approach or what to look for for certain pitchers and stuff like that. A lot of that has to do with the three hitting coaches that we have.

Q. I was just asking Kevin Gausman about what he had to go through right around the All-Star break, flying home for an emergency. You were in Denver with him. He winds up having to kind of fly all over, and he's dealing with a family health situation. How much were you guys aware of what he was going through? He said everybody was so great and understanding. The team was so understanding. Did you guys kind of have a sense of sort of all of the things he was dealing with while that was all going on?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I mean, I don't know if everybody knew, but I mean, I had a pretty good idea. Obviously we don't know how he was feeling and stuff like that, but I think we probably had a pretty good sense, we could try to imagine it happening to our own home and kind of having to deal through that in the middle of a season. So, yeah, I mean I'm sure that was tough on him.

Q. Wondering what stands out to you when you watch Trea Turner as a guy who is obviously playing second base now with the Dodgers but has played a lot of shortstop as a fellow short stop what stands out to you when you watch Turner?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I feel like there's not many weaknesses in his game, really. He hit for power obviously he's one of the faster base runners I think in baseball. He plays good defense, can kind of put him anywhere on the field and plays pretty solid defense. But I think probably the combination of speed and power is the thing that stands out the most.

Q. What do you expect this crowd to be like tonight in this situation, obviously the L.A. games are something in the regular season but this is obviously going to be more elevated.

BRANDON CRAWFORD: Yeah, I mean, I've obviously been here for plenty of packed houses during the regular season against the Dodgers, been here for postseason games, so I know how loud and intense the atmosphere can be here, so I'm sure a combination of the postseason and against the Dodgers will be one of the more intense crowds I've seen here.

Q. Kevin was up there and said that he thought that Webb deserved the Game 1 start. He said he was our best pitcher for the second half of the season, he deserved it. Does that kind of typify what you guys are about in the sense that he deferred in that way and is the Gausman that you saw at the end in his last two starts, is that the same guy that you think you saw at the beginning of the year and up to the All-Star break?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: I'll answer that one first, I think he had, his last couple starts, he had a lot better feel for his splitter and he was throwing it for strikes a lot more often and just seemed like he was able to locate a lot better than he was for a little bit in the second half. I mean, if he has his fastball and splitter working like he did, then he's as good as any pitcher in baseball.

But to answer your first question, yeah, I think there's not many egos on this team and I'm not surprised at all that he said that Logan deserved the start. That's how it is in our bullpen throughout our lineup, if somebody gets pinch hit for in the middle of the game they're not disappointed or mad or emotional about it, they're supporting the guy that's pinch hitting, that's hitting for them. I think that's just part of what makes us such a good team.

Q. When you go out there obviously you have a job to do, but do you maybe take a step back and look at the crowd and see that, hey, we brought back winning baseball here; and with all that everyone went through for the past year do you stop and look around and just sort of appreciate that for a few seconds?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: Typically not during the game, but after our last game I did a little bit. I feel like you finally kind of get that sense of relief when that final strike was thrown and you kind of realized that it's like, okay, we did it, we won our Division and you kind of look up in the crowd and see how excited everybody is and we felt the same way. So that was definitely nice to see.

Q. You said you try even in the clubhouse try to treat every game the same way, just like any other game. But to you what are the biggest differences between regular-season baseball and playoff baseball?

BRANDON CRAWFORD: Having to do stuff like this.

(Smiling.) And then, I mean, obviously, the atmosphere will be a little bit different in the park tonight. But I mean I think we saw that a couple times this year. This past weekend was a little more intense, kind of from pitch one the crowd was into it. I think we saw that with our last series here against the Dodgers where it was actually, it was pretty full and loud, a lot of Dodger fans also, but it was loud from the get-go, so I'm sure we expect that tonight also.