MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 22, 2026

Nick Martinez

American Family Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. I love that you brought your glove to the presser. What a moment for you to start Game 1 of the World Series in the same rotation as someone you have a lot of respect for in Drew and certainly Freddy. What does it mean the conviction and faith that your club has in you?

NICK MARTINEZ: It's exciting. I think as a team, as a staff, we're confident in whoever we call up for the mound. It fell on me, and my job is just to rack up as many outs as we can and keep us in this ballgame.

Q. I know you guys have handled everything that's been thrown in front of you before and you only have a couple guys who played at this stage, Yandy and I think Steven Matz, 30, 40 years ago or something. How do you think the guys will handle this opportunity and this stage being at the World Series level? And Cash said you took everybody out to dinner again last night.

NICK MARTINEZ: Yeah, we went out to dinner last night. It was a good turnout.

In terms of the moment, we're a team that thrives on energy. When we bring the energy and play our style, we're a pretty hard team to beat. I think naturally at this stage, it's going to bring out the most energy. Looking forward to using it.

Q. You've pitched in this park and against this team a good bit from your time with the Reds. Is there any help with that? How does that help you going into tomorrow? Obviously it's a whole different animal.

NICK MARTINEZ: I guess it would be that I know going in that they're a pretty relentless lineup. They don't take any pitches off. They fight for every pitch. It's going to be an absolute dogfight.

Q. How did you start this tradition of taking all the team out to dinner?

NICK MARTINEZ: You've got to go all the way back to when I first got to the league. I've been around guys that knew how to control a clubhouse, and for lack of a better term, knew how to throw a party.

Getting the guys together is important. Creating that off-the-field chemistry translates to on the field. It's easy to set up dinner, but we have a great turnout every time we set something up, and it speaks volumes of the guys in there.

Q. How many times during the season is this?

NICK MARTINEZ: It's every city we go to.

Q. Which restaurant was last night?

NICK MARTINEZ: Went to Carnevor last night.

Q. How and when did they tell you you were getting the Game 1 start, and what was your initial reaction?

NICK MARTINEZ: Yeah, you've got Game 1.

Q. Today?

NICK MARTINEZ: Yeah, today. And ready to rock it. Threw a bullpen yesterday preparing for it. Yeah, ready to rock.

Q. It was pretty late in the off-season when you signed with this team, real close to Spring Training. Could you just talk about the journey of going from that moment to Game 1 starter of the World Series.

NICK MARTINEZ: It was a pretty slow off-season. Tampa came calling. They were on my list of teams that I'd really like to play for. So when they came calling, we ran with it.

I'm sure you guys can remember my Spring Training wasn't a great one. Now we're here. Again, I think that speaks a lot about the type of people I have around me to kind of navigate this season and help me out and help me be in this situation, and we're having a lot of fun with it.

Q. Obviously you had a bunch of experience in Japan too and you pitched in the postseason in Japan. Now looking back on all that experience in Japan, is it helping you right now?

NICK MARTINEZ: Yes, absolutely. My first taste of playoff baseball was my first year in Japan. I was at a time in my career where I was still finding myself and honing in my craft, and I felt like it was a great stepping stone to get me to where I'm at now.

I went from pitching in the playoffs in my first year in Japan and pitching in the Olympics against Korea and Japan in the gold medal game and coming right back to the States in '22 and going all the way to the NLCS with the Padres. Got a little taste again with Cincinnati last year, and now we're in the World Series.

I feel like every one of those experiences has been a stepping stone to where we are now.

Q. What was your perception of how the Rays operate before you made the decision to join them? And what has stood out to you that's just distinctive from the other organizations you've been with?

NICK MARTINEZ: This team, this organization has a great reputation of getting the best out of their guys. The way they do that is being transparent and communicating. Communicating what they expect out of their players and a path on how to get there and how to stay there at the top of their game. They do a really good job of that.

As a player, that gives us the most confidence to go out there and be aggressive, to play free knowing that I have a team behind me not just on the field, but behind the scenes knowing that they can bring me back to what makes us successful, and it all comes down to communication.

Q. This might be a little bit of a similar question because you said the Rays were on that list of teams that you were interested in. I guess maybe before you even heard from them, like what made them an organization that appealed to you? And then I guess I would say maybe what specifically do you feel like this organization in particular has helped you unlock this season?

NICK MARTINEZ: Pretty similar. They have that reputation for getting the most out of guys, and they do that by communicating, by having the resources to help you stay at the top of your game. So going into the -- when they came calling, I knew that going in and knew it was going to be an exciting team to join.

Being from Miami, close to home is another reason they were on my list. I have three girls, two of them in school, so I usually have to wait for them to finish school to see them. I go a pretty long time without seeing them. Playing in Tampa, I see them every weekend even when they're in school and then they're out with me for the summer. So for peace of mind, that's great.

You look at Cash and the reputation, Cash plays to win the game, keeps it loose, very fun manager to play for. Snyd, one of the, if not the best pitching coaches in the game, and knowing that he can unlock another level to my game, which they have obviously.

Again, it's just been -- just being aggressive, challenging guys in the zone, and trusting your catcher and trusting the defense behind you.

Q. Can you talk about the midseason acquisition of Liam? You work with him. What has he brought to the team? Your manager was saying it's not easy for someone to come in midseason, the catcher, to work with pitchers. What has he brought to the team? Has he helped you particularly?

NICK MARTINEZ: He's been incredible for us. It felt like he's been with us all year. He came in midseason, and it helps that he also played with 40 in Miami, so 40 helped him out a ton on just on a personal level, getting to know the pitching staff, what we like to do, and how we may adjust and how we think a little bit.

Hat's off to him for kind of diving in here and working his butt off to get on the same page with us as quickly as he did.

Q. The Brewers hit for a lot of contact and put a lot of pressure on the defense with their speed. How do you change your approach against a team like that?

NICK MARTINEZ: They're a team that you cannot -- you can't take lightly. You can't give them too many chances. You've got to be aggressive in the zone and trust your defense. Trust your defense that they can make the plays and keep them off the bases. The more looks they get, the longer those at-bats take, the better off they're going to be.

Again, they're a team that doesn't take any pitches off. They're always fighting every pitch. They never give up. It's going to be a dogfight. So you have to continue to pound the zone and trust the guys behind you.

Q. That's tough to follow up, that question. Nick, proverbial leader in that clubhouse. You may not have the C on your jersey, but people look to you as the leader. Some of these folks in the clubhouse, some of your teammates have never tasted postseason baseball at any level, whether it's here or in Japan like yourself. What do you want them to get out of this experience? Obviously winning the World Series is the goal, but in the moments of leading up to whatever it is in terms of the win, what do you want them to appreciate about this moment?

NICK MARTINEZ: Trust what got you here. Trust that we established who we are as a team. Trust that when we bring the energy, we're a really tough team to beat. We play aggressive, and I want guys to believe that the guy behind you is going to have your back.

We're going to go balls to the wall on both sides of the ball and trust that the next guy up is going to get the job done. That's the whole reason for these team dinners, for all this camaraderie we built for Spring Training is to get guys to believe that we're playing for each other, to get guys to believe that the guy behind you -- we know each other as well as we know ourselves. If we play aggressive, play our style, the next guy behind you is going to pick you up.

Q. You have experienced so much throughout your career, and now I heard that you are called President in the clubhouse. I heard it from Shane. Right now what do you think about your important role in the clubhouse on the mound, both, in this World Series?

NICK MARTINEZ: Yeah, President is just a funny name for an inappropriate shirt that I wear post-game, and the name stuck. I set up all these team dinners, but these guys show up. That role carries on the mound a little bit.

But I think that the type of teammates we are, the way you compete is how you set the tone, and not just for myself, but whoever is stepping up to the plate. We fully believe we're in the at-bat with them, we're on the mound with them. We know that they're giving it their all and that we're going to compete.

So that's kind of like the aura that we have for each other on the mound or at the plate.