Dodgers Interview: Glasnow embraces “awesome” opportunity by keeping it simple
LOS ANGELES — The World Series swings back to Los Angeles on Monday, and Tyler Glasnow gets the ball with the series tied and the city buzzing. Glas addressed the media prior on Sunday afternoon during the club’s off-day workout.
Asked how this matchup differs from the Brewers, Glasnow kept it simple: “Different game plan, different team. As far as the record going into it goes, I don’t think that’s a huge thing. Just go in and take the game as its own single thing and just game plan, come out, execute, and hopefully pitch well.”
Someone tried to jump ahead to broader scenarios—closing the series at home, all of that. He waved it off. “I think you have to play each game for what it is and not think about the future,” he said. “We’re worried about Game Three. Execute, do what you can tomorrow, and don’t worry about anything else until you have to play those games.”
Toronto’s middle of the order came up fast in the conversation. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in particular. “I think he’s just obviously swing speed and power, but his contact rate as well,” Glasnow said. “When he’s locked in, he can hit kind of whatever. Stuff in the zone, out of the zone. He’s just an overall good hitter.”
Preparation with this staff is its own subplot—Blake Snell’s binder, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s notebook—and Glasnow smiled at his version. “I have a little sheet. I don’t go super in depth,” he said. “It’s a sheet with seven to eight points that I like to look at. Combined stats and stuff.”
He also took a moment to appreciate Yamamoto’s run of dominance. “What’s not impressive?” Glasnow said. “It’s crazy what he’s able to do. His consistency is always what impresses me. His work throughout the week and his pace on the mound are always very similar. There’s thinking about the game plan, but there’s not a lot of external nonsense. He seems very focused. The last two games have been incredible. As the innings went on he got better and better, and to see him catch that rhythm was amazing.”
The two-way question followed, as it always does with Shohei Ohtani. “I don’t think anyone can do what Sho does,” Glasnow said. “Maybe there will be future opportunities for people to try it more. There are still guys in college that go two-way. To do it at this level is different.” What sets Ohtani apart in Glasnow’s eyes? “There’s nothing I’m seeing that you aren’t seeing. He is an amazing hitter and an amazing pitcher. His preparation and his mindset are incredible. The amount of media he has to do every day and the off-field stuff with pitching and hitting, and still maintaining being an awesome person, is very impressive. He’s kind of like a superhuman.”
Game 3 will be at his home park, which could easily tug at a pitcher’s attention. Glasnow kept it grounded. “I’m trying to go into it like it is any other game,” he said. “Obviously it’s the World Series for my hometown team and it’s awesome. But if you handle what you can and simplify your workday and simplify it while you’re on the mound, a lot of the other stuff is just noise. It’s very sentimental and amazing, and that’s something I’ll look back on when this is all done. Right now I’m just trying to go to work and do well.”
There are bits the Dodgers can borrow from earlier rounds, but he didn’t pretend the Brewers and Blue Jays are twins. “I think there are some similarities with contact and not a lot of strikeout,” he said. “But I’ve faced the Blue Jays a lot. I’ve got a plan of what I want to do. Watching the first two games can be helpful. Comparing the two teams only gets you so far. It’s more about the individual game plan. If you execute pitches, regardless of the right one or the wrong one, it usually works out for you.”
Health-wise, he sounded as ready as he has all season. “I feel good right now,” Glasnow said. “Even the last few starts of the season, working with Connor and Mark and getting to somewhere I’m comfortable, keeping it easy and getting me locked in mechanically so I can just be athletic and free thinking, has been super helpful. They’ve been awesome this whole year and especially this last month. I probably feel the best I have all season right now.”
“Every season is different,” he continued. “Certain seasons you don’t feel great out of spring and two months in you feel good. Certain seasons you feel great for three months and then you feel bad. It just depends on the season. It depends on what you’re going through. Everyone’s going through something in season. It’s timing and random stuff and how your mechanics are playing and how your body feels.”
As for the bigger Dodgers picture of building toward October every year, he sees the logic. “I think that’s everyone’s goal,” he said. “Formulate your team not only to do well in season, but to build the best playoff team you can. You have to get there. It’s a little different for the Dodgers. They’ve done so many things for so many years, from development to signing guys. They’re in a different position than most. Any team that has the potential of going to the postseason should try to build the best month of baseball possible.”
There was a quick detour into travel (his flight was fine) and a memory or two from past Fall Classics. “I have a terrible memory,” he admitted, grinning. “I remember the Giants/Angels World Series, being with my cousin, the rally monkey, just where I was at the time. The Giants runs were pretty crazy in ’10, ’12, ’14. A specific thing would be Bumgarner. That was incredible, watching him go out there and ball out.”
Now comes his turn. Simple assignment, high stakes. “I’ve got a plan of what I want to do,” Glasnow said. “Execute, and don’t worry about anything else until you have to play those games.”
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