MLB WORLD SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS RANGERS

November 1, 2023

Travis Jankowski

Chase Field

Texas Rangers

Pregame 5 Press Conference

Q. Yesterday we understand that Adolis had a little something to say to you guys at the hitters meeting. Could you share any of that with us? And did he at any point say anything in particular to you before the game?

TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: No, he didn't have to say anything to me in particular. And just kind of a brief summary, it was pretty much he'd give anything to be out there with us right now but he just can't go. Obliques in this game are tough.

To me, that was one of the best things he could have done is address the team and let us know, hey, I'm hurting. Like, he's emotional. We're all emotional for him. That makes you want to go out and win it more.

Having one of our star players not be in the lineup and not being able to take that field with us when we do something special is tough. He's kind of our little battle cry right now.

Q. Are you surprised they're pitching to Corey Seager, one? And two, the fan base is very excited about the possibility of winning the World Series tonight. What do you tell your fans?

TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: Surprised about pitching to Corey Seager? No. We've got a pretty deep lineup. You don't want to give away free bases.

He is probably the best hitter on the planet right now. That being said, he's not afraid to take his walks. He's not afraid to just get on base and pass the baton to the next guy. So, no, I'm not really surprised.

For the fan base, stay hungry. We're doing everything we can to win this thing.

Q. Just yesterday you said you found you're going to be in the lineup two hours before the first pitch. Since then, it was kind of a whirlwind for you, I think, between the game you had, between talking to the media half an hour afterwards, maybe going back -- what's that been like since that? Have you had a chance to relax a little bit since then or has it been just pretty much been an adrenaline ride?

TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: I got some good sleep last night. That being said, yeah, that was a different experience for me. I told you guys last night, you know, it's one of those things that I'll reflect upon in a couple of weeks, once this job is done.

Once this series is over, I'm sure it will sink in, the emotions will hit. But right now it's just all business.

Q. Was there a specific moment or a game in the season where you thought that this could be where this team would be today, on the brink of winning the World Series?

TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: I think Spring Training. You go in that clubhouse, and me being the new guy in the clubhouse, coming into a group of guys, it's one of those things it took me about 12 hours to figure out that this was going to be a special team. Everyone going out of their way, regardless of status or stardom on this team making me feel comfortable.

That right there is when I knew we had a special group and the talent speaks for itself. You can have all the talent in the world, but if your team doesn't mesh, if you don't have great guys in the clubhouse who want to win for each other, stuff doesn't happen.

So, yeah, I knew the roster coming in. I knew we had a good roster. I didn't really know anyone on a personal level, but like I said, it didn't take me too long to realize that we had a special group in there.

Q. Was there anybody in particular -- when you say it took about 12 hours to figure out, it was a roster full of special dudes -- were there any particular special conversations you had that were that moment for you, like, oh, okay, all right?

TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: It's hard to pick one out in particular. I think it was just a whirlwind of, you know, there were about 25 to 40 guys in that clubhouse who went out of their way to just make me feel welcome, show me around the complex.

When you're the new guy, it can be tough. You don't know where you're going most of the time. You're trying to figure out personalities, who you can joke around, who you can talk with. These guys made it really easy on me.

And the success we all had this year that I had on a personal level, I attribute to that and the team and making me feel welcomed and comfortable here.

Q. What do you think it was about the team as a whole? You guys were so good at overcoming a lot of the big injuries you had. You lost some pretty big members of the rotation. You had Seager out for a while. What is it about a team that's able to do that? You try to get the depth players in there, but it doesn't always work the way it did for you guys.

TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: Yeah, you know, you look at the lineup construction and what the front office did to build a championship-caliber team, and you have to rely on your bench pieces.

We haven't had the healthiest of seasons. I don't think there's any team out there that has 100 percent healthy season where nobody gets hurt.

They did a great job getting role players who understand their role and trust that when their time comes they will step up and they will come in clutch in a big moment. When Seags went down early in the year Zeke came off the bench and made a name for himself. Josh Smith did the same thing.

You look at those players, you look at our bench, there's a few teams out there that we could probably have four bench guys starting on different teams.

Guys tend to care about winning more than their individual statistics as a bench player on this team. And I think that is a huge element in this game, is check your ego at the door as a bench player every day.

We've got a good lineup. Just because you're on the bench doesn't mean you're not one of the best in this game; it's just you're not one of the best in this lineup today. And there's nothing wrong with that.