MLB WORLD SERIES: DODGERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 24, 2025

Bo Bichette

Rogers Centre

Toronto Blue Jays

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. 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 1 of the World Series?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, it's crazy. But I'm looking forward to the challenge. At the end of the day, I've been working my whole life for this. So, yeah, I'm just excited for it.

Q. I'm sure you're excited to take the field with all your teammates, but Vladdy in particular, you've played with for so long. What will it mean for you to take the field alongside him tonight?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, it will be special. It will kind of be like the old days, just on the other side of the field, playing next to him and being next to him. But, yeah, just so excited and, obviously, what he's done this postseason so far is so special, and I'm just really thrilled to be a part of it.

Q. To be on the other side of the field, a place you haven't played 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?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, I mean, I think every part of this is a challenge, but I think it would be even if I had been playing. The World Series is a different animal. Luckily, I've had a lot of time in my life at second base, so I have some experience there. I mean, I feel ready to contribute there.

Q. As far as where you are hitting-wise, you can only do so much, even in sim games and high velocity and all of that stuff. To be able to stand in there now against some of the best pitchers in the world, how are you feeling, how is your swing feeling?

BO BICHETTE: I've been able to get a lot of good work in, but honestly, I'm leaning on a whole life's work of swings and at-bats that have all been dedicated to being ready for this moment, so I feel ready, and I'm ready to get out there. I'm super excited.

Q. As you try to adjust to the nuance of second base, at the Major League level, have you leaned on anyone in particular?

BO BICHETTE: Well, luckily our team is full of a bunch of great defenders and guys who have played second base at a high level, so definitely. I've talked to Ernie, Isiah, obviously Andrés. But, yeah, I've definitely sought out everybody's opinion on everything and just trying to be ready for any potential situation that maybe I'm not typically used to handling.

Q. 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?

BO BICHETTE: To be honest, I brought it up. It was something that I felt like I could get ready for quicker than another position. I just want to be ready to help the team in any way that is afforded to me, so that felt like an opportunity for me and, obviously, they were onboard with it.

Q. To what extent are you feeling relief 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?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, this has been, obviously, on my mind the entire run, just trying to get as healthy as I could be and as ready as I could be for this. I thought at one point it might be the ALCS, but once that wasn't an opportunity that I had, I turned my attention to hopefully having an opportunity to be here for this.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know if relief is the word, but I'm definitely super blessed and grateful to have this opportunity, definitely.

Q. 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?

BO BICHETTE: I think if anybody had doubts that I could do my job there, I wouldn't be playing there, so I feel good about where I'm at.

Q. But is it a full level where if needed, you could play shortstop?

BO BICHETTE: Well, I haven't taken ground balls there yet, but I'm sure that over the course of series that's something that we would see about.

Q. 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 the work behind the scenes to get back?

BO BICHETTE: I mean, it was a challenging experience for me, for sure. But as much as I prioritized getting healthy, I also prioritized staying with the group, taking time to hang out with the guys in the clubhouse, and then making sure that my work was done before the game started so I was able to be as locked in as possible in the dugout and try and watch the game and stay involved that way. So, yeah, it was definitely a challenging experience, but I think I handled it to the best of my ability.

Q. 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?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, it was asked yesterday, but I would say the first World Series I remember was probably 2004. So I mean, the first series I probably remember is the Red Sox-Yankees series. But the first World Series was that Cardinals-Red Sox.

Q. If you put a gauge on it, are you close to a hundred percent? What is your -- a hundred percent of 70 percent? Where are you?

BO BICHETTE: I don't know about a percentage, but I know I'm good enough to play. And I feel good enough to produce. So that's all that matters to me.

Q. I assume your mother and father are going to be here too?

BO BICHETTE: They will be, yeah.

Q. When you think back to New Hampshire, 2018, you and Vlad and Schneider, what are the feelings that go through your head?

BO BICHETTE: A long road. 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. So we've had our ups and downs and we've had high points and low points, and to get to this point and have the opportunity to chase a dream is special and it makes it more special to do it with them.

Q. What has changed about Schneider over the years?

BO BICHETTE: Well, I think he's always had a gift of being a manager. I think he creates good relationships with the players. 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 easy to trust Vladdy, obviously, but 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 I think that's probably one of the biggest reasons we are here.

Q. How will all of this, any of this, influence your thinking as a free agent?

BO BICHETTE: I mean, I've been here my entire career, worked really hard to build a winning culture -- not alone, of course, with some people that are really close to me. So, yeah, I mean, I've said it before, my goal is to stay here for my entire career, but right now, I don't have time to think about that. I got to go out there and do everything I can to help the team win.

Q. You were introduced pregame in the other series to start the series, but you're going to be able to run out on the field with your teammates. How are you going to take that all in tonight?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, I'll do my best to enjoy it. I'm not going to lie. I've thought about it. Seeing how excited the fan base is and the love they have for everybody, I've definitely thought about that, so it will be a special moment.

Q. 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, that pinch hit two-run shot in the 9th 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 in retrospect now, do you see that as well?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, I don't know. If they say that it had a big part in it, then maybe it did. I think there's so many different scenarios that you could look to throughout the season, big moments, big hits that had a huge part in us maybe getting out of a rut or continuing a hot streak or whatever it is.

I think for me personally, it was a big moment, but I'm not sure if that's a pinpoint you could point to on our season turning around.

Q. After Game 7, I was talking to Kevin Gausman, and he said of all the Blue Jays teams that he's been on, 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. How do you think about that, about this team relative to the '21, '22, '23 teams that you were on?

BO BICHETTE: I've played on some incredibly talented teams. And this is no different. This is a very talented team with a lot of great players. I would say the difference is we're just a team in every sense of the word, the way we play the game, the way we love on each other, want the best for each other, play for each other. So I think that's the biggest difference.

And probably being around this group has been the biggest lesson for me in my career, in looking around and understanding that this is what a team is, and this is what we should be striving to create every single season.

Q. 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 baseball?

BO BICHETTE: I think the compete level, never giving in, competing with two strikes is huge. I think we do that obviously very well. Like I said, we have a ton of talent, a lot of guys that have done some really cool things in this game, and we'll definitely lean on those guys this series. But, yeah, I think just the ability to compete, never give in, I think that does wonders for any team.

Q. Every team in baseball talks about trying to create the type of team dynamic that you guys have spoken about all season long. As you think back at just 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, are there lessons that you can draw, like this is how you put it together to create what you guys have had this season?

BO BICHETTE: Yeah, I mean, I think there's a ton of guys in that locker room that have the resume to have egos, want to be the hero, all of that kind of stuff. I think, yeah, I think as long as your best players are down to do whatever it takes to win, and there's no ego behind that, I don't see any reason that that can't be created again.