MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 26, 2026

Jake Bauers

Tropicana Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. Jake, I know it was brief here in '18, but what is it like coming back to The Trop now in the World Series? What's different? What's changed? Are there any familiar faces on the other side still?

JAKE BAUERS: Yeah, a lot of the place has changed. A lot of the place is a little bit newer than maybe I remember it. A lot of the staff is the same as when I was here, so it's been good to see some of those guys and catch up.

At the same time, I think there's going to be plenty of time for looking back and reminiscing on exactly what's going on here. I don't necessarily think now is that time. Just trying to stay as focused as I can on the main thing, and that's winning two more games.

Q. It stood out that one of the first things you guys did yesterday was shoot some pop-ups up at the roof. You know the challenge of that. What is the bigger challenge, the color or the rings? And can one workout prepare you to play a World Series game if you're a Cooper Pratt and have never been here before?

JAKE BAUERS: I think the biggest challenge is the roof is the same color as the baseball. It never got easier for me when I was playing home games here, but I think it goes to as long as you don't take your eye off of it, you're going to be all right.

Q. Have you seen all the Brewers fans around town? If so, what kind of atmosphere are you expecting?

JAKE BAUERS: I didn't get around town much this morning. I was in bed until -- about until the bus left today. So no, I didn't see any Brewers fans. I have heard that they sold a lot of tickets to Wisconsin addresses, which I think is pretty cool.

It's going to be exciting to get out there and see how many of them traveled and how many of them showed up.

Q. Obviously I know you have a big goal in mind. I know what your priority is. But somebody is going to win the MVP of this series, the World Series. I just wondered what it meant to you, given your journey, your history, the work behind it, your parents and everything. Did you get to celebrate that briefly with the last series? Did you put the trophy somewhere special? What did it mean to you?

JAKE BAUERS: To be honest with you, I gave my parents the trophy to take home with them, and since then I haven't thought about it for a single second.

Q. I read an interview from you from a couple of years ago by Curt Hogg in which you mentioned that you took your identity from baseball player to father, husband, and son. It seems it has paid off the last couple of years for sure. Is playing against the Rays, your first MLB organization which you debuted for, kind of that full circle of that spiritual journey that you described?

JAKE BAUERS: We'll see. We'll see, I think is the answer I'll give right now. Like I said, I think there's going to be plenty of time for reminiscing. There's going to be plenty of time for recapping everything that's happened over the last not only season, but eight seasons since I debuted for the Rays.

But we'll see. Yeah, it would be an awesome story. It would be an awesome thing. At the same time, like I said, there's two more games left to win.

Q. When I was talking to you the other night and asked you about Sal Frelick's home run, you said you were almost crying in the dugout. How are you wired that you are just so joyful about seeing others succeed, seeing your teammates succeed, and just that sacrificial nature that you have to see your team succeed?

JAKE BAUERS: It's hard to play on this team and not feel that way for the other guys. This is such a cutthroat business. I think I know that pretty well myself. I don't think I've always been that way. I think it's definitely a skill that I've picked up along the way.

But like I said, I think when you're playing for a team and you're playing with a group of guys like we have, it's really hard to not be happy for everybody. It's really hard to not be a team player. It's really hard to not get emotional when you know someone just had one of the biggest moments of their life on the world's biggest stage in this sport.

So I think it goes for everybody, man. It's so awesome to see these guys playing the game. I'm really grateful to be a part of it.

Q. You mentioned you spent all morning in bed. I saw something somewhere that they're doing construction on the lone road behind the hotel. Did you hear any noises last night or this morning?

JAKE BAUERS: No. I got about 13 hours of sleep last night. It was uninterrupted, blackout shades, doors shut, TV off, AC down to 60 degrees. Just absolutely passed out. So we were all good there.

Q. Ear plugs?

JAKE BAUERS: No, I didn't need ear plugs. I've got the kids in a separate room. They're away. Dad's sleeping. Yeah, feeling good.

Q. You've talked a bit about the moment you were close to leaving baseball. How are you a different person today? Is it just on the field, or are you a different person after going through that near retirement experience?

JAKE BAUERS: I thought you were going to say near death experience for a second. (Laughter).

I'm a very different person, but I think that's also just kind of the natural progression of being a human being, right? Like I'm not the same person I was yesterday, let alone three years ago.

I just really embrace that this sport can be just a vehicle for developing yourself as a person if you let it and you're willing to look at it like that. So I just made the decision that that's how I was going to look at it, and I was going to learn every lesson I can and be the best person I can be along the way and understand that nobody's perfect and we're here to make mistakes and learn from them and all those cliches.

Q. Are you a happier person now in your entire life?

JAKE BAUERS: Yeah, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. I used to put so much pressure on myself that it became almost unbearable. I used to want it so bad that I was just forcing it away from myself in a sense.

Really just let all of it go and just said I'm here to experience whatever comes at me, and I'm going to make the most of it -- good, bad, pretty, ugly, just irrelevant. I'm here to experience it all.

Q. You mentioned focusing on the game ahead. In the 60 to 90 minutes after BP, how do you focus? Is it reading scouting reports, looking at video, or when you're home, hitting on Trajekt? Or is it just trying to clear your head or play cards with the guys?

JAKE BAUERS: I'm probably going to be sitting in the hot tub playing chess until about 30 minutes before the game. Throw my uniform on, go out there, and see what happens.

Q. Your frequent chess partner?

JAKE BAUERS: I'm just playing on my phone. I'm playing against random people all over the world.

Q. You've played in a lot of winning organizations from the Rays to Cleveland to New York to Milwaukee. Of all of them, what differentiates this Brewers organization and has allowed you maybe to thrive as you have?

JAKE BAUERS: I think the buy-in from top to bottom on what we're trying to do, which is ultimately win a World Series. And I don't just mean the players, I mean the coaching staff, the scouts, down to the ushers working the aisles at the stadium. I think the entire city wants a World Series. The organization knows that, and everybody within the organization is working towards a common goal.

I don't think that's necessarily a unique thing, but I think the level of buy-in that we have in this organization is definitely different than most.

Q. Jake, your offense obviously operates on this grind-them-down mentality. I'm curious, in your mind, what's the most satisfying thing about your offense when it's operating as you want it to?

JAKE BAUERS: I think the most satisfying thing personally might be watching somebody have one of those at-bats while you're on deck. One, because it's super impressive to watch, and obviously that's kind of the game plan. Two, because you know you're about to step in the box and the guy on the mound is probably a little bit gassed.

There's definitely a little bit of a mental edge there that you can gain. But also I think one of the things that is satisfying about it is being in the dugout watching the at-bats and then looking up at the pitch count and just kind of keeping track of where he's at. On a good night it can climb pretty high pretty quickly, and I know that's something most guys are trying to avoid.

Q. Back to the fans, what kind of lift does it give you and your teammates on the road when you see so many of the people cheering for you and trying to drown out the home fans?

JAKE BAUERS: I think it's big time. I think it's big time. Just as a player in general, I think you draw energy from the fans at home as well as on the road. And to know that they're traveling and spending their hard-earned money to come to a completely different state to watch us play baseball, you don't want to let those people down.

So you play hard for them. You play hard for the city, and you want to put your best foot forward for them.

Q. If I go back to the drag 'em down at-bats, how much has the pitch clock been an advantage to hitters in those type of at-bats?

JAKE BAUERS: I don't know. I don't know. I think it definitely plays a role for sure. But as a hitter, like when you're swinging max effort and fouling a bunch of pitches off, like you're getting pretty tired as well. Having one timeout as a hitter, that's something you've got to kind of spend wisely if you're going to go deep into an at-bat.

I think the pitch clock probably works both ways in those scenarios, because it's not like -- taking BP will tire you out and you're swinging 50 percent in a controlled environment. You get into a game and you foul five pitches off in a row on a max effort swing, your heart rate is going, you're breath heavy. Like, you're getting pretty tired too, so I would say it works both ways.

Q. You guys put yourselves in a really good position in this series. How do you fight the urge to look ahead?

JAKE BAUERS: You just don't.

Q. (No microphone.)

JAKE BAUERS: No. I think that's what we've been doing for the better part of the season. I think it's a practice, and I think it takes a lot of discipline, but I think that's the group we have.

Q. You've got Peralta going tonight. Without giving away the keys to the kingdom, what's your game plan, and how do you approach him?

JAKE BAUERS: Obviously it's an electric fastball. It's Fastball Freddy. We'll probably be on the heater, try and swing at strikes, take balls, and we'll see where it ends up.

Q. Really curious about the chess game. I'm assuming you do that to clear your mind and not overthink things. But are you anonymous? Like, could you be playing somebody in Newport Beach or New Zealand and they don't know they're about to play Jake Bauers getting ready for the World Series? Is it one of those anonymous apps?

JAKE BAUERS: Yeah, I've got a random username. I don't know who I'm playing; they surely don't know who they're playing. It's not like I'm any good. It's not something special. I make my fair share of mistakes.

It's just keep my mind occupied, kill time, all that for sure.