Dodgers Interview: Rojas — “All that matters is the present and what you do today.”
TORONTO — The Dodgers turned the page and handed a start to Miguel Rojas with the season on the line. The veteran infielder met with the press prior to tonight’s World Series Game 6 in Toronto. He talked about execution, pitch to pitch concentration, and a clubhouse that has seen plenty and still believes.
“Execution,” Rojas said when asked what carries over from past elimination wins. “I think it all comes down to that. We’ve been playing the whole year through the ups and downs and this is not going to be any different. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. At some point it was going to get tough for us.”
He pointed back to the long season as a teacher. “The season kind of taught us a lot and I feel like this is a moment where we’re going to get all the experience that we got from not just a year but the experience that a lot of guys in this clubhouse have,” he said. “The whole goal is to play again here tomorrow. Nothing you can do about the past. All you can do is the present and what you do today to perform, to execute the plan, and to go out there every single out and give everything you have.”
Rojas leaned into the group’s hardened mindset. “We’ve been through a lot in our careers and everybody knows what they need to do to get back on track,” he said. “I know our offense hasn’t been doing what we’re supposed to do, but we have total confidence in every single guy. The most important part is to go to the plate and go to the game today without being afraid of failure.”
He wanted nine hitters thinking as one. “It’s not about one guy,” he said. “It’s about nine individuals going with the same plan and trying to attack the other team. Remember baseball: the other team is trying to get you out too and they’re trying to win the game. It’s a hard sport. You get in slumps during the regular season. You can get in slumps at any point of your career. Right now it’s about putting all that aside and competing for the next two days.”
Urgency without tightness was his theme on defense as well. “It’s staying focused on every single pitch,” Rojas said. “Playing every single pitch with everything that you have because you don’t know when the opportunity is going to come and the ground ball is going to come my way or the fly ball is going to go to the outfield or the pitcher needs a big pitch. If you wait for that moment to come to you, it’s probably going to be too late.”
He expanded that thought to the whole club. “The concentration and the urgency has to come from being ready for every single pitch regardless of the inning,” he said. “If there’s a runner on base, if the bases are loaded, whatever the situation is, we have to stay in the game for all the pitches, twenty-seven outs on defense and offense. That’s what you’re going to see from us tonight.”
The off day helped after the 18-inning marathon and the quick turn. “We feel so much better after resting for a full day, even though we had to travel and change time zones,” he said. “It’s part of the process. We’ve been playing ball for a long time and the Dodgers organization has been doing a lot of great things for baseball, starting last year in Korea and now going to Japan. It’s been a long journey. It’s been stressful. Everybody is mentally tired and physically you can only imagine. We’re not going to use that as an excuse. We’re going to continue to do what we need to do.”
Pride in the group came through. “Regardless of what happens, I’m really proud of every guy in this room,” Rojas said. “We still have the goal to win the World Series, which has been the goal since spring training. We’re going to be feeling really good in two days when we’ve got the opportunity to win this.”
He even found a smile retelling Dave Roberts’ pregame race-turned-tumble with a staffer. “It makes you smile and it makes you have a good time when the head of the group is loose like that and willing to do anything,” Rojas said. “He had no chance to beat him to third base. He tried to take a shortcut. He didn’t know the camera was there. He tripped on the camera and we saw the rest. On the biggest stage, right before a game facing elimination, this guy is on the ground with his uniform full of dirt and he’s not backing away from it. He will do anything for this group to spark the team.”
On the plan at the plate, Rojas pushed for freedom within structure. “We’re trying to free everybody up with the mentality of going to the plate without fear,” he said. “We have a plan and we’ve got to execute it, but we’re human. We’ve got to be okay if someone chases a ball. We’ve got to be okay if someone puts a bad swing on a pitch. That doesn’t mean the next guy will. Know what you’re good at and trust it instead of trying to be someone else.”
He used the 18-inning win as a lesson. “We couldn’t build an inning until Freddie hit the homer,” he said. “It’s important to focus on what you’re good at and your tool package in this situation, not trying to do something bigger than what you’re capable of.”
Rojas closed with a nod to the starter and the standard. “Yamamoto became the guy, the horse everybody knew he was going to be,” he said. “We’re expecting him to take the ball as long as he can because we all know how he prepares. He was even willing to pitch in the 18th. That tells you about his commitment and the effort he’s going to give this team.”
And tonight, for the infielder stepping into the lineup, the mindset is the same as it was at the start. “All that matters is the present and what you do today,” Rojas said. “Execute the plan and give everything you have.”
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