New York Mets Pitcher Drew Smith and 2nd baseman Jeff McNeil on the London Series and possibly making it more of a competition
09.06.24
London Stadium, London, UK
09.06.24
London Stadium, London, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00For Drew, you probably had the best view of that last play.
00:16What did you see just from everything?
00:20Honestly, I didn't even see the slide or anything.
00:23I was just yelling, tag home.
00:25I didn't see – I thought he stepped on the bat, to be completely honest.
00:28And then my eyes went directly to first to see if we got him out at first.
00:31So, I haven't been able to watch the video or anything yet.
00:34But, yeah, it was a heck of a play and we needed it.
00:38You ran right over to him after that.
00:40Did you know that he – or think he was a little hurt?
00:43I did, yeah.
00:44I mean, I pumped my fists and didn't realize what happened.
00:46Then I saw him on the ground and just made sure he was okay.
00:48And he said he was good.
00:50And then I asked him if he stepped on the bat.
00:52He said no.
00:53And I had no idea what happened at the time.
00:54But I'm just glad he's okay.
00:58Drew, what was that ninth inning like to pitch?
01:03It seemed a real pressure environment there.
01:05They were threatening to come back and the crowd was up for it.
01:07What was that like for you?
01:09It was awesome.
01:10I mean, that's what you live for is a reliever.
01:12I would have loved to come in and, you know, strike out Harper
01:15and then strike out Boehm and be done with it.
01:16That's the ideal situation.
01:18Made it a little tougher on myself, but made some pitches when I needed to
01:22and came through.
01:24And that's what it's all about.
01:26You talked about those two guys.
01:27Are you aware of, obviously, who you're up against when you're in that
01:31ninth inning of how good that team are and who's at the plate?
01:34Yeah, absolutely.
01:35We know who they tell us who we're facing when we're coming in.
01:37And, obviously, that's one of the best teams in baseball
01:39and a couple of the best hitters in baseball.
01:41And you're well aware of that.
01:43You know you've got to come in and execute.
01:44And, yeah, I was just glad to get the job done against Cassianos.
01:48Hi, guys.
01:52Question for either of you, really.
01:53Obviously, congratulations on the win and wrapping up this series in London.
01:57As we all know, there's a CBA coming up to renegotiate.
02:01This may or may not come back after 2026.
02:03What have your thoughts been on this weekend?
02:05And will you go home and be ambassadors for staging future matches here?
02:10Is that for me?
02:12Yeah, no, this trip has been phenomenal.
02:16You know, get to play baseball in another country, which is, you know,
02:19always exciting.
02:21I thought it was a lot of fun.
02:22I think it's pretty cool to, you know, have both sets of fans here.
02:27And I feel like every pitch is, you know, there's so much going on, you know,
02:33between – it's just loud.
02:34You know, it's a lot of fun.
02:36And, you know, I think the teams who have came over here have had a lot of fun.
02:40And, you know, hopefully we can have it for years to come.
02:44Bryce Harper said that he wanted to maybe see this as maybe a four-team tournament,
02:48something kind of almost like a cup competition like we have here in the U.K.
02:51Is that something that you would get behind?
02:53Yeah, I think – yeah, I was thinking that today.
02:56You know, it would be cool if you had like four teams here
02:58and, you know, you play each team.
03:00You know, you can get like, you know, five, six games here.
03:02It's just tough coming over here for two games and then flying back to the states.
03:06So, I think if we can get, you know, more teams over here
03:08and, you know, make it a – you know, more of an event, it would be a lot of fun.
03:13You've heard a lot more about cricket probably this week
03:15than maybe you ever thought you would in your entire lives.
03:17Sometimes they're pitted against each other here.
03:19You know, baseball is often compared to cricket.
03:21You know, you've had guys go and be ambassadors and play cricket and learn about it.
03:24Is it valuable to have that comparison?
03:26Or is it maybe detrimental to seeing the game of baseball grow here?
03:30You know, I think you want to grow the game of baseball anywhere.
03:33But, you know, speaking of cricket, I watched a lot of cricket while I was here.
03:37It was on TV the whole time.
03:39And, you know, my wife got into it, I got into it.
03:42I think I'd be a heck of a cricket player.
03:46I'd swing at everything if it bounces and, you know, be able to put it in play
03:49and hit it anywhere.
03:50I think that'd be a lot of fun.
03:51And I know the World Cup of Cricket, I think, is in the States right now on Long Island.
03:55So, I think the United States play on Wednesday.
03:57So, I was going to try to see a match.
04:00I have no idea about the rules.
04:01I'd love to learn more.
04:02But it was, you know, pretty exciting to watch.
04:06You're saying there's room for both, even over here?
04:08Yes, absolutely.
04:16Yeah, Jeff, just continuing the cricket stuff.
04:18The big debate online at the moment is what's harder to play, cricket or baseball?
04:23I have no clue because I haven't done cricket.
04:27But, you know, I've heard it's tough.
04:30You know, hitting a fastball, you know, 100-mile-an-hour fastball,
04:33I heard it's the toughest thing to do in sports.
04:36But I don't know enough about cricket, never done it, would love to try it.
04:39And, you know, then I can really give you my opinion.
04:42A lot of baseball players say cricket must be easier because the bat's huge.
04:45A lot of cricket players say, well, the baseball players all wear gloves and we don't.
04:50So, yeah.
04:51Yeah, I don't know the rules.
04:53So, you know, I just know you hit.
04:56You know, hitting looks fun.
04:57It looks like you can hit it far and anywhere you want.
05:00So, I know the ball's spinning multiple directions.
05:03You know, it goes left, right.
05:04But, you know, I'd love to try.
05:07Jeff, what was it like to not only get back in there today
05:10but pick up a couple hits against lefties?
05:12Yeah, no, it felt good to be back in there.
05:14First two at-bats, saw the ball really well.
05:16Took a really, you know, felt like took two good swings off a tie.
05:20You know, he was throwing the ball well.
05:21You know, just happened to hit it, you know, right at the second baseman.
05:24And my last two at-bats, you know, kind of got a gift there.
05:28You know, to be able to stay in the at-bat and, you know, was able to get that bloop single.
05:33And, you know, sometimes you need that to get going.
05:36Got the bloop single.
05:37And then my last at-bat off Alvarado, he's always been a tough at-bat for me.
05:42You know, he's throwing 100-mile-an-hour sinkers with 93-mile-an-hour cutters.
05:46It's tough.
05:47And, you know, I went up there.
05:48First pitch was going to bunt.
05:50And I think they knew that, too.
05:51So, first pitch, going to lay down the bunt, get the guy over.
05:55And then, you know, kind of liked where the defense was playing.
05:59And I knew I'd probably get a heater in that situation.
06:02And, you know, was able to sneak it by the infield.
06:06And for both of you, how would you summarize the entire ninth inning?
06:11The entire ninth inning, top and bottom.
06:13Oh, entire ninth inning.
06:15Yeah, that was wild.
06:16I feel like we play, you know, a lot of games like that against the Phillies.
06:19I think it's, you know, never over until it's over.
06:22You know, we've came back on them.
06:24They've come back on us.
06:26You know, they're a good team.
06:27They're a good ball club.
06:29And, you know, you got to – yeah, it's just a fight.
06:33Yeah, I mean, it's baseball.
06:35Like, that's what makes it fun.
06:37You know, it's never over.
06:40I'm not saying it was a boring game,
06:41but you could have a boring game for eight innings,
06:42and then the ninth inning it's just absolutely hectic.
06:44So, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed every minute for sure.
06:49Jeff, what was this last week like for you,
06:51not playing and just sort of taking time to work on your swing?
06:54Yeah, it was tough.
06:57You know, I want to be in there every single day.
06:58I want to contribute.
07:00I want to produce.
07:02It's been a little tough.
07:04You know, we also faced four straight lefties,
07:06which, you know, isn't really putting me in the best position to succeed.
07:11You know, if I'm in there it – you know,
07:13there's always tough at-bats for me.
07:14You know, I grind, I battle.
07:15But, you know, Iglesias has been playing great.
07:19So, it's been awesome.
07:20You know, this is a team game.
07:21We need, you know, 25, 26 guys to contribute.
07:24So, you know, he was in there the last few days, played well for us,
07:28able to sweep Washington and then, you know, come over here.
07:32We split and, you know, just excited for the team right now.
07:35Do you feel like you're back to feeling more like yourself with a line drive swing?
07:39Yeah.
07:40I mean, I feel like, you know, I've hit some balls hard this year
07:43and, you know, they don't always go through.
07:45You know, look at my day-to-day.
07:46You know, I felt like my first two at-bats were my two best swings
07:50and I was over two.
07:51And, you know, then my last two at-bats, you know, got a blooper
07:55and was able to sneak one by an infielder.
07:57So, it's a game of baseball.
07:59It's tough.
08:00Hits aren't always going to go your way.
08:01What you can do is, you know, my approach is always, you know,
08:04stay up the middle, hit a line drive.
08:06And that's what I've been trying to do
08:07and just hoping they start to fall.
08:18Hi.
08:19First off, congratulations on the game today.
08:22As a non-baseball watcher, really, don't really see it over here,
08:27I saw a lot of fans who were British leaving the stadium
08:30saying that it was, like, really wild and exciting and incredible.
08:33How does it feel to be baseball representatives
08:36and showcase such an incredible last inning full game, really?
08:42I mean, yeah, it feels great.
08:44Anytime you can try to bring a new sport to a country
08:47that maybe doesn't have it or it's not popular, it's awesome.
08:51Like, we want to share our game.
08:52We want people to see it and watch it and grow and learn about it.
08:57And I think that this weekend really helped with that.
09:00And I enjoyed my time over here tremendously.
09:02I had a great time.
09:03It was my first time in London, and I would love to come back.
09:07Yeah, definitely want to do anything we can to grow the game.
09:12I think this has been going on for three years, so it's been exciting.
09:17I loved watching the games.
09:20But London's been fantastic.
09:24I wish you do have more time here
09:27until you can kind of go out and do some things.
09:29I feel like I didn't get out too much with all the travel, and it was long.
09:33But just be able to grow the game is what we're doing here.
09:39I really appreciate everything.
09:40Thank you.