MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 23, 2026

Drew Rasmussen

American Family Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. I think when you pitched here earlier this year, we talked about you getting to come back to where it all started, but also in the context of doing it again in the World Series. Can you kind of explain your thoughts and feelings on that?

DREW RASMUSSEN: Yes, Stevie and I were laughing about it earlier. Had the Brewers been playing anyone else in the World Series, man, I'd be rooting for them. It's a really unique, really cool matchup. I'm excited for this one. But like I said, we're here to do a job just as they are.

I'm excited for their fan base and their organization, but at the end of the day, it is us they're competing against, and we really want to win a World Series as well.

Q. Do you remember the start of your career here?

DREW RASMUSSEN: I love it. It's a fantastic organization. There's a ton of great people here. The guys I know on the team are incredible human beings, first and foremost, and obviously incredible talents too.

2018, they were the only team to take a shot on me. Every other team had five opportunities to do it before them. They took a shot on me. They told me the truth about how my progression to get to the Big Leagues would go, and they stuck to their word. So long as I performed, they would give me an opportunity, and they did that. It's the place, it's the organization I debuted with.

Ultimately, I couldn't be more grateful for the location they traded me to. My time in Tampa has meant -- it's meant the world to me. I know Stevie and I have seen our family grow there. Obviously we have a ton of incredible people in our front office, our coaching staff behind the scenes.

It's a funny way to kind of look at it, but the greatest blessings in my career have come because of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Q. What do you like about pitching in this ballpark, and how much do you think it will help that you have experience and a little bit of comfort here?

DREW RASMUSSEN: It's going to be an electric environment, I can guarantee you that. I'm pretty positive the people of Wisconsin are very excited for this.

But yeah, there's a little bit of familiarity here. I would take a shot in the dark and say it's probably one of the parks I've thrown the third or fourth most innings in my career, maybe outside -- it's definitely the most innings I've thrown in a park outside of the AL East.

Yeah, there is a little bit of comfort in the park, a little bit of comfort of just what the visual behind home plate looks like. I can see it in my head right now. Where a lot of times we go on the road and I've got to kind of get my bearings about me and have an understanding of what the backdrop is going to look like and that kind of stuff, but here I already have a pretty clear-cut picture.

Q. I was looking at video of your debut the other day in a Milwaukee uniform, and it was striking to see how different your --

DREW RASMUSSEN: I got a good jawline, don't I? (Laughter.)

Q. I'm curious how, and specifically the change-up, because the data I saw said you threw a bit of a change-up like 4.5 percent of the time. Is it similar at all to the one you throw now, or have you changed mechanically over the years?

DREW RASMUSSEN: No, one of the first things that happened when I transitioned into the rotation for Tampa, Snyds told me, hey, we're going to stop throwing that pitch. It wasn't very good analytically. It was a lot of work. It's a credit to him, he's the one that circled back and said some time has passed. We believe the industry is changing. We believe that technology has led us to figure out a way that I specifically throw, we could put a grip in my hand.

It's his unwavering belief and confidence instillment that he puts in all of us that just leads us to continue to try and tinker and do everything in our power to upgrade our arsenals to the best of our ability. From there, it all just stems with the confidence he instills in us. Once you kind of get comfortable doing something, you just go out there and rip it because who I would say is one of the greatest pitching coaches in baseball history is telling you, hey, this is a quality pitch and it needs to be thrown.

If he believes it, shoot, who am I to tell him he's wrong? He's had a lot of success. You can see the arms that have come through our organization, a lot of people who have benefited from development underneath him. I'm sure he's had the exact same conversations with those guys over the last decade.

So it's just one of those things that, if he believes in it, I believe in it, and if I believe in it, I'm going to go up there and throw it with confidence.

Q. One more Brewers-adjacent thing if you don't mind. Pat Casey being here on Murph's staff, you've had some conversations with him. What's it going to be like pitching with him on the other side?

DREW RASMUSSEN: Yeah, that will be uncharted waters for me, that's for sure. You know, it's funny, we were playing outside in Tampa last year, and he didn't decide to make the trip to come be a part of the series there. Now that we're back in the dome, I'm sure he'll be there next week.

No, I love the man to death. I was blessed to get to play for him, and ever since, he's become a mentor. He's one of the people that's in my corner. I got to see him yesterday. He's also one of the most competitive people you'll ever meet. I don't know if you've gotten the opportunity to experience that. He said he'd be doing me a disservice if he didn't want to kick my butt tomorrow.

But no, it will be different having him on the other side, but also it's one of those things that just I have so much love for him. I still haven't gotten the question answered, I don't really know what he does around here. I've asked a couple of the staff members I know here. I haven't really gotten a straight answer. It kind of seems like he just gets to hang out and take it in.

Like I said, I couldn't -- we could have the conversation about what Pat Casey means to me for the next three days, but he just don't have the time for that, man. I love him.

Q. I asked Woodruff the same question about you. Since you now know he's active and what both of you have been through physically, what's it mean to you to see him return to the World Series?

DREW RASMUSSEN: What does it mean to me? What does it mean to this community? What does it mean to this organization? I love -- he's another guy, man. He took me under his wing when I was young. He was someone that it was great to just sit back and learn from and just really watch day in and day out and how he competed on the mound, how he carried himself off the field.

It's funny, I was 24, 25. He was probably really only 27, 28, somewhere in there, when I was here. He seemed so mature. He seemed like he had so many things figured out.

I'm happy that he's active on the roster. I know for their clubhouse that will be a big boost. For him personally, I know he's been fighting things these last couple of years, but he is -- he truly is the ultimate competitor. Like I said, for him and his family, just to have the opportunity to pitch in a World Series, I'm sure it means the world for them, and I couldn't be happier.

Q. Nick Martinez obviously starting Game 1 tonight. We talked a lot about what he's meant to this group, in the clubhouse, on the field. How uniquely qualified do you feel like he is to usher this team out for Game 1 and handle the environment of this place?

DREW RASMUSSEN: I don't think there's anything unique about it. I would just say how qualified he is. What he's done over the course of this season has been incredible. He's provided us quality. He's provided us length. He's given us a chance to win.

Shoot, he's going to be making his 33rd or 34th start. He's probably given us a chance to win in 33 of them. Just the consistency has been off the charts. There's just no one who's going to be equally as prepared to take the ball tonight as he is. I mean, the amount of homework he does and just how consistent he is in his process gives him the opportunity to go out there and compete every single time he takes the ball.

I'm excited for him. I'm excited for his family. I'm excited for our team because he has the opportunity to lead us out there tonight.

Q. The World Series brings these high-leverage moments, and it seems like the smallest things impact big. Where do you go to not let the big moment overtake you?

DREW RASMUSSEN: Just do your best to simplify. It's still a baseball game. Can I throw strike one? Can I have hitters in two-strike counts in the first three pitches? Can I just -- yeah, just execute and try and simplify it to the smallest amount that you can, I think.

I think where people get in trouble is they try to overcomplicate what the moment is. The plate is still 60 feet, 6 inches away. It's a right-handed or a left-handed hitter. Every individual hitter has a scouting report. If you've done your homework and your preparation, you can have confidence in the pitch that you select and the pitch you're going to attempt to execute.

After the ball leaves your hand, it's out of your control. So you really just take care of the things you can control, and after that, it's just going to be what it's going to be.