home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

MLB WORLD SERIES: METS v YANKEES


October 26, 2000


Bobby Valentine


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Game Five

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Bobby Valentine.

Q. You must be tremendously proud of your team. You gave the Yankees a better battle than anybody's given them, I guess this entire decade. What are your feelings about your own team, and then what the Yankees have accomplished?

BOBBY VALENTINE: I'm extremely proud of everybody who played for the Mets this year. I couldn't ask anything more of a group of guys. I couldn't ask for better effort, for better preparation, for better camaraderie. They're the National League Champs. I think that they were champs this whole series, and I'm extremely proud of them. We lost to the World Champs. They just did a little better than us this year, and they deserved to win.

Q. Why did you leave Al Leiter in to face Sojo instead of bringing in a right-handed pitcher in that spot?

BOBBY VALENTINE: I wasn't going to bring in a right-handed pitcher to face Polonia or for Sojo. It was either Al or Johnny; and rather than Johnny going three days in a row, I decided to go with Al. I thought that striking out those first two guys, and the pitches he threw to Posada, made me think he had plenty. I was wrong. It was the wrong decision, obviously. If I brought somebody else in, they definitely would have gotten the guy out, and we'd still be playing.

Q. We could see you go to Al in the dugout afterward. Can you tell us what you said to him?

BOBBY VALENTINE: I said, "Congratulations on a great season, a great job." I asked him if he still thought he had enough. He said he had plenty. He thought he had Posada on strikes. I guess he just missed. He was confident he was going to get Sojo.

Q. What was the argument with the umpire after the throw hit the base runner?

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, it's two bases from where the runner is when the ball leaves his hand. I didn't think the runner had already touched second base, the runner from first. The umpire thought he did, so... If, in fact, he hadn't touched the base yet, he would have only gotten to third. He would have gotten to second, not third.

Q. If winning the World Series would have been the greatest accomplishment this team could have done this year, is losing the World Series the second-best accomplishment?

BOBBY VALENTINE: Yeah, I guess. Or maybe playing seven games. I don't know about that. I don't know how to answer that. I'm very proud of the team. They set out to get here. They also wanted to win. There are a lot of heavy hearts in my clubhouse right now, and I have a heavy heart with them. I hope they can feel the sense of accomplishment and pride that most Met fans, I think, will have in the way they went about their business this year.

Q. What impressed you most about Derek Jeter during this Series?

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, Derek Jeter's a great player. He didn't have to prove it this Series. He could have taken a night off, we would have still thought he was a great player. I'd like him a lot better. (Laughter.) But, I mean, Derek Jeter can play. He can move to his left and his right in the field. He has a real strong arm. He is a powerful clutch-hitter.

Q. The play at the plate with the winning run was a lot closer than I thought it was going to be at first. Was Mike a little bit too far behind the plate and that's why the throw hit the runner?

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, the throw hit him. It hit the runner. Mike talked about it on the mound. He felt that he would let the ball get to him. If he would have went out in front of the plate, he would have given the plate to the runner to slide by him. If that ball is a fraction of a second sooner, or an inch away from the runner's leg, Mike would have caught it and tagged him out. We'd also still be playing.

Q. This is a historic Series. There were a lot of memorable moments. Out of all of the games, as you look back, what are some of the events that stand out for you the most?

BOBBY VALENTINE: I'm a little foggy going back right now. I just think that the fans who came to these games and the ones who watched at home saw whatever it was, 47 wonderful innings of baseball. I mean, every game was exciting. The fans were on their feet most all of the games. There were just a lot of clutch plays, a lot of clutch hits. A lot went on.

Q. Just one more thing about Al Leiter. How would you characterize this game from not only technically, but just as a matter of heart from him?

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, I talked with Al yesterday, and he was determined to win this game. He said, "You don't have to worry about intentional walks. You don't have to worry about pitch counts. I could throw 150 pitches. I'm going to give everything I have, and I'm going to be the guy to get the victory tomorrow." He exhibited and walked his talk every step of the way, I thought, today. He battled them. He gave everything he had.

Q. Now that it's all over, would you address your future here with the Mets and the situation?

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't know how to address it. My ownership has been great to me since I've been here. I have a wonderful team. I'm hoping like heck there's a situation where my respect for the organization and desire to manage this team is a mutual feeling. And there's no reason for me to think otherwise.

End of FastScripts....

About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297