WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL B - GREAT BRITAIN VS ITALY

March 8, 2026

Andrew Fischer

Miles Mastrobuoni

Daikin Park

Team Italy

Postgame Press Conference

Italy - 7, Great Britain - 4

Q. Andrew, you seemed pretty hyped after that home run in the first at-bat there. Could you describe the whole thing?

ANDREW FISCHER: I mean, just trying to get a pitch to hit. Super excited to be out there. Like, didn't get an at-bat in the first game. So, you can imagine, the buildup to playing in this has been pretty emotional. You're representing your family, friends, the country.

You don't get an at-bat in that game, which is totally cool, we've got a stacked squad. So new professional player, like, it makes sense. Then you finally get an at-bat in the next game, and it all comes out at once.

Miles was giving me a little lip because I missed his high-five; he was on the on-deck circle. I apologized for that. But just kind of blacked out, just was excited.

Q. What's it like going from being drafted less than a year ago to now playing in this event here?

ANDREW FISCHER: I mean, grew up watching the event, watching guys play, watching him take ground balls while I'm in college. These are guys I look up to. And it's cool to stand now side by side with them.

I've been learning a lot since I've been here, not even baseball stuff. Just like how to put your pants on like a big leaguer, how to tie your shoes like a big leaguer. I know it sounds so cliché, but these experiences are priceless.

Q. I know when we talked yesterday, I asked you the one player on the team that you think could surprise fans coming into this tournament and you said Dante Nori. Could you speak to his performance yesterday after that?

ANDREW FISCHER: It didn't really surprise me. I said it with a lot of confidence when you asked me, who is the guy we don't know about that we're going to find out about. The kid's a ball player.

You can kind of see, like, I've played on various college teams, you run into these big programs. There's guys that are uber talented, and then there's a margin between those guys and other guys that are not as talented. But these guys know how to compete and they want to win.

And he's got a mix of both where he's, like, extremely talented, super twitchy, very knowledgeable of the game. But his will to compete and will to win, and even just being a good teammate in the dugout, I could tell you a mile a way that it was going to be a good day for him.

I haven't known him a long time. But from the period of time that I've known him he's a great dude and I'm sure Miles can attest to that. His energy is contagious and he's a good ball player. He's going to play this game for a long time.

Q. Miles, the 2023 team the 2026 team, there's some new faces like Andrew and Dante. But there's also some connections. Can you talk about the DNA that connects the two teams?

MILES MASTROBUONI: Both of them are very talented. This one, you can kind of see with these young guys that are coming in. They can play, they're ready to go right now. Very fortunate to do this for the second time.

It's in our blood. We work hard. We play the game hard. And we want what's best for everyone right beside us.

So very similar teams, and we're looking to do the same thing, if not more, for sure.

Q. Which emotion will be for you and the team playing U.S. in two days?

MILES MASTROBUONI: That's the biggest question leading into this tournament. All the guys back in our affiliates are asking the question, who is in your guys' pool. The minute they hear U.S. their eyebrows raise.

Same team, same game. We're going to treat it like the same.

All these teams are good in this tournament. It's not just them. But it's going to be fun to go against those boys, and you got some guys that you play on the same team as, so it's going to be fun to compete against them. We're going to give them everything we've got, for sure.

Q. Andrew, being a new guy to the Brewers organization, was it tough to commit to this tournament, wanting to make a good first impression with those guys?

ANDREW FISCHER: Of course. Like, put the WBC aside, the dream starts, you want to be a big leaguer, you want to play the game for a long time. But these opportunities don't come up often.

I mean, very new to being a pro baseball player, I'm trying to put my name on the map. I think an opportunity like this gets you the chance to do that.

Not even just with myself, like having an opportunity to play with these guys, I was saying these experiences are priceless. The plane ride over, the bus rides, being at the hotel, even how to dress.

We showed up. We've been wearing a suit every single day. You walk out of your room wearing a suit at 6:00 in the morning to show up at the park. And it's business; we're here to win; we're here to compete. These experiences are priceless.

So more to circle back to your question, I think the Brewers even felt the same way. For me to get an opportunity to do this, it would probably be beneficial in their eyes as well. So I'm glad we were both on the same page for that.

Q. Miles, can you speak to what it's been like bonding with some of these younger guys and really incorporating them into the team, and kind of how that's been over this weekend?

MILES MASTROBUONI: Yeah, I mean, that's what it's all about. I've been fortunate enough to be in pro ball for my 11th year now.

It's passing the baton. It's showing these young guys how to go about their business and everything like that. But you don't overstep. These guys know what they're doing. They're here for a reason. And you've got to remember that.

So if they've got questions, I'm always here for them. I'll give them everything I've got to help them further their careers.

Q. I saw you walk in with the wine bottle that Jason's holding. Can you talk about the significance of the wine bottle? Are you going to drink the wine? Are you going to save it as a memento? And what does the impact of today's game mean for you, and the wine is another example of, like, you have the espresso and you have the Armani jacket. There's all these pieces of Italian culture that are playing into this. Can you talk about that? Whose bottle of wine is that?

MILES MASTROBUONI: I'll start. Winning is hard in this game. You've got to celebrate it. We came together as a team and we found a way to celebrate wins. We've been fortunate enough to win the first two here. And that's just the way a little token of celebration.

I think you'll talk to everybody in this room, the heritage, the traditions, they run deep with all of us. I've been doing it since I can remember with my family.

So it's very passionate for us, and I think we showed that on the field.

ANDREW FISCHER: Going back to just celebrating wins, this is the very first thing that Vinnie Pasquantino made clear to us as the captain, I don't care if it's a home run, I don't care if it's a double play, I don't care if it's the first inning or the ninth, whether we're up 10, down 10, doesn't matter -- we celebrate each other and wins.

This game is really hard. It gets fast, as you guys could probably imagine. A ton of people in the crowd. It gets loud. It's hard to communicate.

So to have a leader like that just tell us celebrate wins, not just an actual win of the game but to get 27 outs, celebrate each one of them. That's kind of, to represent that, it's just kind of be where your feet are, and the rest is going to fall in place.

Q. You said, Andrew, you had that blackout moment today. Have you ever had a blackout moment on the field, or was this the first time?

ANDREW FISCHER: When I'm at my best in the game, I'm extremely emotional. I get really competitive. You can probably ask any athlete. When you're out there and you're playing, you get super competitive. Everyone kind of finds their own vision and where they feel comfortable.

And we actually had a little something going on between the team where we just talked about be okay with guys who maybe play the game more laid back or other guys play more emotionally. We lean into each other on that and be cool with that.

I'm one of those guys, I play with a ton of emotion. Those moments happen, like, for me when I'm playing every now and again. I just kind of embrace them. It's not something that you experience often, so I just let it happen and whatever feels natural, I just do.

Kind of look back sometimes at videos, I go, maybe like that was dumb or irrational, I shouldn't have done that or maybe somebody doesn't understand that. But our love and passion for the game is unmatched. I can't even explain it to you guys. From the top-down, we've got veterans, Berti, there's a million of guys right now that have experienced that for 15 years in the big leagues, and this is my first year experiencing it at the pro level. I'm doing everything that I can to ask questions and learn from them.

Q. So going back to the heritage part, Italian culture is so beautiful. What's the one thing that you want people to remember this team for, as Italian heritage culture?

MILES MASTROBUONI: Passion. We love to play this game. I think we show it. We love having that "Italia" across our chest, and we're going to take every chance we can to show it, with the coffee, the postgame stuff. And I think going back, it means so much, and we're going to show it when we can.

ANDREW FISCHER: Yeah, I mean, the first thing that came to my head when you said that, when I touched home, I did something like this, a motion (motioning to his chest). I just saw it, one of my teammates was showing me, what are you -- I don't know, it just happened. I guess it was just like from the heart. You're playing for Italy, making that very clear.

I'm here to represent Italy. I'm here to represent my family and my friends from home that share the same everything that I grew up believing in and knowing.

I'm playing for the name on the front of my jersey as I can probably say all these guys are.