WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL D - ISRAEL VS NETHERLANDS

March 10, 2026

Andruw Jones

LoanDepot Park

Team Netherlands

Postgame Press Conference

Israel 6, Netherlands 2

Q. It was a little bit the same story as in the other games, one bad inning and too many mistakes.

ANDRUW JONES: Yeah. I've been saying this from the first day I got out here. If you don't play clean baseball, you know, you're not going to win. Obviously you're not going to win with only three hits. You know, if you don't hit with people on base, you're not going to score. If you don't make plays, it's tough to win ball games. So all those guys know why they didn't run from the beginning of the tournament. That's why we're going home.

Q. What does it mean to you to give back to the game of baseball through this tournament and mentor the emerging and the established stars of your team?

ANDRUW JONES: Well, I'm always around. I'm not -- this is the first time I'm managing. Normally I'm always coaching, always trying to help the youth, the upcoming talent to help them get to where they want to be.

You know, we have a bright future. You know, I think we see what we've got. I think we've got a lot of young pitchers. You know, it's tough that you have to go get them because the other teams just give them just 12 pitches or 10 pitches to pitch, and, you know, when they get to that and they're looking good, you're like, wow. This can be a bright future for the kingdom pitching staff.

Q. What has Martis meant to Netherlands baseball, and what does it mean to you to get him in for a fifth Baseball Classic?

A Well, he's a bulldog. He knows how to pitch. Obviously he don't have the stuff that he used to have 20 years ago, but he kept himself in shape. He knows how to pitch. He knows how to move pitches, so today was a perfect day for him to go out there and do what he always did, and I'm so proud of him to -- I guess he got the record for most pitches throwing in a WBC.

So so proud of him. You know, his career that he had as a young kid, you know, make it in the Major Leagues, then kept going, never give up, independent league, pitching in the Netherlands now. So I'm so proud of him and so happy that he got in there and did what he did.

Q. Andruw, what can you say about the way Druw played this week on base four more times tonight, hit .400 during the week. He really showed his talents during these last four games.

ANDRUW JONES: You know, he showed what he can do. I'm proud of him. I'm proud that he got a chance to play and go out there to do what he did. You know, it showed, like, we have young talent that is upcoming that can make this kingdom very successful in the future. So I'm proud of what he did. You know, he put the work in, and I tell him all the time, if you put the work in, it's going to pay off. So even if you start slow or you're on the fast track, if you put the work in, it's going to pay off in the long run.

(FastScripts by ASAP Sports).