AL DIVISION SERIES: WHITE SOX VS GUARDIANS

October 8, 2026

Jo Adell

Rate Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. As far as the José Ramírez factor, what have you seen since you've been a Guardian? What did you see last night? And can one player make a difference in a team sport?

JO ADELL: I mean, absolutely. I mean, when Josy's there and he's in the lineup every day, you know, he gives us our best chance. He's a beast. You saw yesterday both sides of the ball, finding a way to get it done. And he's a leader on this team. He's our leader. He's our heartbeat, so we're fired up that he can have a game like that, and he's going to continue to play well for us.

Q. Jo, what have your impressions been of Gavin since you've gotten here? Did you face him? If you faced him before, what was that at-bat like?

JO ADELL: Obviously, me and Gavin were teammates when we were younger coming up. Just to see the growth and how much of a beast he is now, but obviously the battle between me and him over the years and now being teammates with him, I'm glad I'm on this side.

So it's really good stuff, and I'm lucky to play behind him. He's just unbelievable, and he's going to continue to get better. So just really glad to be with him.

Q. Jo, we were talking to you at 4:25 instead of 1:25 because the Rays eliminated the Yankees. Just curious, were you guys watching the game? Did somebody text that we're playing at 7:00 tomorrow instead of 4:00?

JO ADELL: Definitely. I'm sure everybody was following the game and watching all the postseason games, really, outside of obviously ours.

They went in and got the job done, and so we know what's ahead. And we're excited for the opportunity to compete and hopefully get the job done here and be able to move on.

Q. Jo, kind of springing this on you so my apologies in advance. Major League Baseball has put a proposal forward to shorten the season from 162 to 154 beginning in 2029. That would make the Division Series best of seven, change sort of the seeding of the postseason and puts more off days in the postseason and regular season.

Knowing that you probably haven't had a lot of time to look at it, if any, do you have any reaction to that or any thoughts about that type of a change in the schedule?

JO ADELL: Yeah, really our focus has been trying to get the job done here and play our game and do what we've got to do to continue to advance and play our game. So I haven't really looked through any of it. Just really worried about day to day at this point.

Q. Jo, what's it like to play an elimination game almost every day now? Yesterday, today, and if you get it back to Cleveland, another one?

JO ADELL: Every day we come to the field, we know there's a job to get done and we've got to get it done. Like we've said before and like what's been talked about, back's against the wall, and we're bringing the best out of ourselves by being in this situation, and I think we're up for that challenge.

We're going to go out and continue to play the game we know how to play, and we play a team game, and every one of us is going to have to show up and figure out how to get it done.

Q. Jo, I realize not all at-bats are created equal, so I don't want to overread into something. But your first six at-bats of the postseason didn't result the way you wanted to. Obviously, yesterday was a really good day. Did you have a different approach yesterday? What maybe led to the success that you had yesterday and was it different from Games 1 and 2?

JO ADELL: Yeah, definitely, first set of at-bats there was really trying to do too much at the plate. And I've kind of prided myself over the course of the season up to this point of not trying to take the big swing but take the swing to get the job done.

I think yesterday, not even just myself, but team-wise we did a good job of finding ways to get runners on, pass the at-bats to the next guy, and really that mindset, I think, really put the numbers up that we wanted and really kind of helped me settle in.

I think it's not going to be the same guy every night to be the hero. It's going to take everybody to do small things to make it happen. And for me, it was really just settling in to try and do the small things.

Getting a pitch that I could handle and just putting it forward, you know, finding a way to move a guy, move a runner, and we were able to do that collectively as a team, and good things happened.

Q. This one's a little bit off topic. You said something last night that caught my attention. Your two triples tied with Kenny Lofton for most in postseason history. I know we shared a good laugh over that. I think Cleveland fans have enjoyed that you seem to be really embracing playing here. And for you to reference a player that had such gravitas with the fan base, what has it meant to you to play with an organization that has had a ton of postseason success, a lot of postseason opportunities, and to be a part of what that looks like now?

JO ADELL: It's huge. I think being in an organization like this and the history of how they've been able to get the job done and compete in October and be able to do this, it's made me a better player. Even when I got over here, we had a stretch of games. We had to fight to get to this point where we are now. Like I was alluding to earlier about team baseball and finding a way to get the job done and do the small things, it's made me a better baseball player. It's made me think about the game in a better way, and I couldn't be happier to be a part of this organization and be able to go out there and -- like today, have a game where it's win it or go home.

Everybody wants the opportunity to play in games that matter like that. So couldn't be happier.

Q. Jo, in the same theme, has the Cleveland experience been one that has just let you be Jo Adell the baseball player and not the worrying about living up to expectations anymore, that you had to be more than just a good ballplayer?

JO ADELL: For sure. You get to this point in the season, and even when I got over here, it was what you bring to the table. You've got to bring it every day, who I am as a player and what I can bring to help this team elevate. What I don't bring I get help on the back side from other guys in that clubhouse. And so just showing up every day and knowing that -- knowing who I am and what I bring to the club, if everybody brings who they are individually to the game every day, that's when we win games.

And so, like I said, it not trying to be a hero. Not one person's going to be the hero every day, but we have a chance to show up and be who we are as players individually and put it together.

So it's definitely elevated me and made me focus more about the task at hand and what has to get done. Thank you.