AL WILD CARD SERIES: WHITE SOX VS ASTROS

September 28, 2026

Jeremy Peña

Daikin Park

Houston Astros

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. You've seen a lot of great players come through here, but what he did this season, what set him apart?

JEREMY PEÑA: Special. If there was one word to describe the year, I would say it was special. He was so consistent from the beginning to the end. He carried us. He carried our offense, and he's one of the key reasons why we're in the postseason right now.

Q. Jeremy, obviously you've been to the playoffs before. Does this feel different or mean a little bit more because you had to work through so much adversity and get through so much just to get to this point?

JEREMY PEÑA: There were definitely ups and downs. Last year was tough for us to miss the postseason. This year we had a lot of ups, a lot of downs. But we're in, and that's what matters. So we go from here.

Q. Jeremy, hitting ahead of Yordan, especially when you get on base, where's the balance in wanting to be aggressive, wanting to maybe steal if you can, but understanding if you do, they may walk him, or if you get thrown out, it could be one less runner on base? Where is that balance, and does that maybe change that mindset where you do have to be more aggressive?

JEREMY PEÑA: You're on first base with Yordan hitting, you're in scoring position. He's special with the bat. You don't want to take the bat away from him, but at the same time, I feel like if I could be aggressive, I have the green light to be aggressive. We've just got to see the situation in the game and play by that.

Q. Joe just talked to us about how you guys have constantly been able to overcome adversity. What is it with the makeup of this team, the veterans and the young guys, that's allowed you guys to do this and see it through to the postseason?

JEREMY PEÑA: I'd say it's the culture. We have players that as soon as they step foot in the clubhouse, they know what's expected, they know the standard, everyone is on the same page. We all show up with one goal in mind, which is to win ball games, and everyone always puts their part into it.

Q. I know you've talked about you guys are in now, but talk about this team's opportunity, and if all that you went through this year gives you kind of a leg up or a boost to face whatever comes next?

JEREMY PEÑA: I'd say everyone starts from zero. Everyone starts from zero. Everyone is going to give their best. We're going to give our best. You're going to put your best players out there. We're going to put our best players out there. Like I said, let the best man win.

The records in the regular season, they don't matter now. Everyone's starting from scratch, and it's a short tournament. So see what happens.

Q. You closed the season pretty strong in the last couple of weeks at the plate. How are you feeling at the plate right now compared to where you were maybe two, three weeks ago, and what do you feel has been the biggest difference over the last couple of weeks?

JEREMY PEÑA: I feel good. The body feels good. The head's in the right spot. Yeah, I'm pretty content with the work we're putting in before the games, the preparation we're putting in of about the games, the plans that we come up with to attack the day, to attack the pitchers.

It's just the flows of the season. You're going to have ups; you're going to have downs, but it's knowing how to navigate those.

Q. Jeremy, as someone who's had great success, your first time in the playoffs, how much do you think playoff experience matters? Are there jitters, like the White Sox who haven't been in the playoffs for a long time?

JEREMY PEÑA: I would say experience always matters. I would say that you need to have the experience to stay cool, calm, and collected and do what you've been doing all year. You need to just focus on the task at hand, ignore all the outside noise. It feels like every game gets magnified.

Just keep it simple: Play your game, have fun, compete, and let the results take care of themselves.

Q. You guys have obviously played the White Sox this season, you had good success against them. What stands out to you about this White Sox team?

JEREMY PEÑA: They're a great ball club. They had a great year. We battled back and forth this year, so it's going to be a great series.