Speaker 1 (00:04):
All right, John, we'll take questions. We'll start with Keegan on your left.
Keegan (00:13):
Hey John, where's your head at right now? How are you feeling?
John (00:16):
Man, it's hard. I had my first team meeting of the year after the game. There's so many things to unpack there. Not just the series as a whole. Seven games, two of them go to extras. I thought we played great baseball. Both teams having chances there late. I feel for the guys. You know what I mean? This is a special group of guys. That being said, I am so proud of them, of the entire organization, really. You know what I mean? That's kind of where I'm at. We've set a new expectation and a new standard here and did it with a lot of hard work, did it with a lot of cohesiveness. And man, it's tough to say bye to this group.
Keegan (01:10):
This feels like a team that we'll be asking you about 10, 15 years from now too. When I ask you about the 2025 Blue Jays, what are you going to remember?
John (01:19):
All of them. You know what I mean? Literally all of them. It's not very often you get a group together that genuinely likes one another and genuinely cares about one another. And I'm talking about their wives, their kids, and them. It's a special group and I think Blue Jays fans for generations are going to remember this team. Not just what we accomplished, but how we went about it.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Go to Shay straight ahead.
Shay (01:47):
John, you said you held your first team meeting. What did you want to say to your players?
John (01:52):
I said thank you. I said thank you probably about 10 times, and that was the main message. I'm sure I'm going to talk to them all again, but I said thank you. I said, "I'm sorry that we're feeling this way right now." It definitely could have been the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of emotions. So I said, thank you, and this is a group that I'm never going to forget. They're going to have a place in my heart, every single one of them. That was the gist of it.
Shay (02:31):
John, with all the good things that have happened this year and all the things that you mentioned to be proud of, how does that ending impact the feeling that this group may leave with?
John (02:45):
It'll hurt for a few days, a few weeks, when you're that close. The positive person in me will take some time to digest it, and I'll go back to Bo's homer in Texas, George's Canada Day. So many things I'll go back to and be proud of. But I think right now you just have to, I don't know, take in what happened. You know what I mean? But going forward, the beauty of baseball is that it goes on. There'll be spring training in February. So that being said, you take away the sacrifices the guys made, the way they went about it, the performances everyone had, and kind of just the cohesiveness of the team.
Shay (03:41):
And Bo, with that swing, he essentially had his signature moment, even though it did end up a win. Just what was your view on Bo and what was your feeling for Bo having that moment?
John (03:53):
That that was right up there with George's homer against Seattle. For a guy that has been a staple of this team for the past six or seven years, to have Vlad intentionally walked, and then he went dead center on the first pitch. It was so fitting, it felt right at the time. And in terms of Bo, what he did this year is nothing short of amazing. What he did to get back is nothing short of amazing. He was playing on one leg. So in the moment it felt right. You know what I mean? And for guys like him, George, [inaudible 00:04:33], guys that have been here, I feel for them because they deserve to be on the stage right now.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Go to Mike straight ahead.
Mike (04:42):
Hey, John. When you look back at this game, do you see it as a couple of heavyweights going at it back and forth, or do you see it as you guys had all the chances that you wanted to have to win it?
John (04:59):
A little bit of both. I thought we had chances to sweep them. I thought that we played our game and our game is as good as anybody in baseball. So is it two heavyweights going back and forth? Going back to the beginning of the series when people were calling it David versus Goliath, it's not even fucking close. So they're good. I'd put this group of guys against any other 26 players in the entire planet. Yeah, we had our chances. We had our chances to beat them soundly, and we did it. And that's baseball.
Mike (05:46):
When you had opportunities, both last night and tonight, with the guys you want up in those situations. You want Ernie up with second and third and nobody out. You want Kirk up when you need contact. How does that feel in the dugout when you're going in in those spots?
John (06:03):
You like it. You know what I mean? You want the game to be decided by the players. And I think that throughout this series it was, and we came up short. You know what I mean? I'll relive those bases loaded at bats for a long time. But man, I've said it so many times, I trust everyone on this roster and you want to let them decide the outcome of the World Series. That was an epic World series. You know what I mean? For a variety of different reasons. So at the end of the day, players, they can become legends or they can be this close. You know what I mean? And we were this close and I'm just proud that we went about it the right way.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Do a couple more. John, in the second row on your right.
John (06:52):
Hey, John, what did you think of Max Scherzer's performance tonight?
John (06:57):
I thought Max was really good. I thought he was exactly what we thought he would be in a big game. And it's a testament to him, man. He's 41 years old, he's throwing 96, he's making pitches. I thought he was awesome. In games like this, you try to … Usually think starts are going to be short. You know what I mean? But there's no one I trusted more than Max in that situation, bottom of the order. And I thought he handled everything extremely well and he gave us exactly what we needed.
John (07:29):
Do you think tonight was his last game in Major League Baseball?
John (07:32):
I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Go straight back near the cameras.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
John, to win a championship, you have to perform, but you also need a little bit of luck. It seemed as though a lot of the bad breaks went against you guys. Ball on the fence and losing a game at 18 and tonight, you get 2 hard hit balls to infielders that don't go through, a couple of also close calls on strikes and balls there at the end that don't go your way. Do you feel like there was a little bit of lack of luck on your side?
John (08:06):
Yeah. I mean, to be the last team standing, a lot of things have to happen. You have to perform. You have to make good decisions. You have to make plays. I think that's why it hurts so much, [inaudible 00:08:20] hitting the ball to … I don't know how Muncy caught that. Izzy just not getting there and Will almost coming off the plate. We played so good defensively too. Double play from Vlad, Varsho's catch. Yeah, man, there's a lot of stuff that has to happen in order to win it. You know what I mean? And we did everything that we needed to do, it felt like. So I think that's why it stings just a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Take two last ones. Sixth row on your left.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
John, how would you describe the Dodgers as a team?
John (08:55):
Talented.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
One more for John. We'll finish up with
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Mike.
Mike (09:04):
John, can I ask you about Vlad? I mean today he had the one hit, but it came on the double and the 11th. He makes three terrific defensive plays. If this game had gone the other way, he's probably the World Series MVP. What did you see from him tonight?
John (09:19):
Exactly what we saw the entire postseason. Vladimir took his game to another level. And I think for players that are here and that are going to be here and that are going to be here in the future, knowing that we got 14 more years of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. playing complete baseball is an awesome thing for our team and for our fans.
Mike (09:42):
And Ernie sets the record with 30 hits in the postseason. And in the first round, one of the TV commentators said, "Nobody's ever heard of this guy." You've watched him for a couple of years. What did you think of his postseason and his game tonight?
John (09:55):
Historic. You don't see that very often. We're talking about really good pitchers, right-handers, left-handers. Ernie had a phenomenal year. I hope he wins a gold glove. He should. And he became one of the faces of our team because of the way he plays. Unbelievable run that he was on this entire postseason. And man, he's turned himself into what people think was a waver wire pickup or a guy that's kicked around the minors. He's turned himself into a everyday major-leaguer that is going to contribute to win a world championship.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
All right, John, just an incredible postseason for the Al Champs. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
John (10:38):
And I don't want to leave without saying congratulations to Dave and the Dodgers. It's a hard fought series. And it sucks we're not the last team standing. But to Dave and his staff and his team, congratulations.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Incredible World series. You should be so proud, John. Thank you.
John (10:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
All right, congratulations to Doc and the 2025 World Champion Dodgers. We'll get the microphone to Kevin to start.
Kevin (11:11):
Congratulations.
Dave Roberts (11:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
I like the goggles, this nice look. That game was full of history and I'm sure you'll find out about all the history, but part of it was you passed Tommy Lasorda for World Series title. I think Walter Alston actually has more, but what does that mean to you?
Dave Roberts (11:28):
Yeah, it's hard to reconcile that one. I've just got so much respect for Tommy and what he did in the game. And so right now I'm just really elated and really proud of our team, our guys, the way we fought. And we've done something that hasn't been done in decades.
(11:45)
And there were, as we talked earlier, so many pressure points and how that game could have flipped. And we just kept fighting and guys stepped up big. So I could just go on and on about the big plays, the big performances. And this is one of the greatest games I've ever been a part of. And this whole series and what the Blue Jays did, and they gave us everything they had. And just such a first-class organization.
Kevin (12:06):
You can smell the champagne from here. You pressed the right button at every juncture, especially tonight, but throughout this series. I don't even know what the question is. Can you talk a little bit about how you did that?
Dave Roberts (12:17):
I just think it just goes down to just trusting your players. And it's nice when you can look down the roster and have 26 guys that you believe in and know that at some point in time their number's going to be called. And that's what happened.
(12:33)
So Miggy Rowe, I talk about the game honors you. And right there, the game honored him. He does things the right way and he deserved that moment. And what Yoshi did tonight is unprecedented in modern-day baseball. And just the young guys coming out there with the arms and just the big plays. And again, it's been a long season, man. We started out in Tokyo and ended up north of the border, so just proud of this group of guys.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Good. Jack in the second row.
Jack (13:00):
Dave, what was the mood in the dugout when Miguel was coming up there in the ninth? And just being able to manage that game with the way it started and the deficit you guys faced, what did it show you about your club that you guys were able to play there?
Dave Roberts (13:12):
We were going to play 27 outs. And obviously, it doesn't look great in that moment, but I trust him to take the at bat. And he got a pitch that he could handle and hit the biggest hit he's ever had in his life. And obviously, at that point in time we felt real good about it. And we needed a next level performance from Yama and we got it.
Jack (13:34):
Can you walk through just the pitching maneuvers from Snell to Yama and then sticking with him once you got to the 11th? Just what was going through your brain those last couple innings?
Dave Roberts (13:44):
Gosh, yeah. I'm still trying to unpack it. Yeah, Snell was good. I just felt that he gave us what he had and I think last pitched before him. Honestly, I just try to push guys as much as they could. And having Emmett in there and Robo doing his thing got some big outs. And for me, at that point in time, I wanted to give Yamamoto an opportunity to keep the game at bay. And then once he did that, he felt confident that he could stay in his delivery, wasn't going to compromise health. And then at that point in time, even for that third up, he said, "[foreign language 00:14:27]," means I'm okay. And so for me, I just trusted him and he came up big again.
Jack (14:31):
We've asked you about the dynasty question a couple times over the years. I mean, do you look at this as cementing that? Just what is going back to back and winning three and six years mean to what you guys have put together here?
Dave Roberts (14:42):
I mean, we've put together something pretty special. I do know that. I'm proud of the players for the fans, scouting, player development, all this stuff. To do what we've done in this span of time is pretty remarkable. And I guess I'll let the pundits and all the fans talk about if it's a dynasty or not, but I'm pretty happy with where we're at,
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Steve and then Jim
Steve (15:07):
Congratulations. I want to ask you a couple of questions about Yamamoto. You've dealt with pitchers before. Is there something in his physiology, the way he approaches? What he did tonight is sort of unheard of.
Dave Roberts (15:21):
It's unheard of. And I think that there's a mind component. There's a delivery which is a flawless delivery, and there's just an unwavering will. I just haven't seen it. I really haven't. And all that combined. And there's certain players that want moments and there's certain players that want it for the right reasons. But Yoshi is a guy that I just completely implicitly trust and he's made me a pretty dang good manager.
Steve (15:52):
Are there things though that's just part of his makeup? Does he throw differently? You usually are not able to do what he did tonight, throw a lot of pitches. And then is there something just in his style?
Dave Roberts (16:03):
Well, it's just, he uses his body very efficiently. And it's the whole engine that works and not just the arm. So he's just very efficient with his delivery.
Steve (16:11):
Can you just expand a little bit?
Dave Roberts (16:13):
I can't go into all that. That's not-
Steve (16:14):
Little bit?
Dave Roberts (16:14):
No.
Steve (16:15):
Okay.
Dave Roberts (16:15):
No.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
We'll go to this. Jim.
Jim (16:19):
I guess my first question would be, how do you say, "Bulldog," in Japanese?
Dave Roberts (16:23):
Yeah, good question. We had a lot of people that can answer that question.
Jim (16:26):
I mean what he did tonight, what Buehler did in the ninth inning last year. I mean, similarities, differences, what did you see?
Dave Roberts (16:36):
Yeah, similarities. Walker is obviously in Dodger lore and Yoshi just put himself right there with him. Throwing 100 pitches and come back after one day off and going three innings, it's pretty crazy. I'm crazy for sending him back out there, but I just felt he was the best option. And again, it's something that I just never imagined, but you got to trust players and I believed in him. We all believed in him. And yeah, this game, again, I'm having a hard time unpacking it. Just what a great series, what a great game. And I think we're going to be talking about this game for a long time.
Jim (17:14):
And the other thing, I mean, you guys started in March in Japan, you started before anybody else, and you're the last team standing and there's been a lot of ups and downs this season. I mean, if you could put that into a few words, what this roller coaster has been like this year.
Dave Roberts (17:32):
Yeah, I mean you can look back at the miles that we've logged this year. I think Brené Brown comes to mind. Grit, the real definition of grit, passion and perseverance for long-term goal. And we never wavered and it's a long season. We started, as you said in Tokyo and we kept going and we persevered and we were the last team standing
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Go to Anthony Fitzgerald, straight back.
Anthony Fitzgerald (17:53):
Doc, congrats. As you said, this was not just a great game, but a great series. And people talk about in baseball mapping
Anthony Fitzgerald (18:00):
… out innings or … There were so many things that happened in this series that could not have been mapped out, especially the 18-inning game.
Dave Roberts (18:04):
It wasn't mapped out.
Anthony Fitzgerald (18:05):
What can you say about just these two teams just emptying the tank against each other?
Dave Roberts (18:09):
That's what it's about. I mean those guys, I got so much respect for what John does with his team and his staff and the organization. They gave us everything we had. It was just a brawl. Both teams fighting and punching back and responding and … Yeah, I mean I'm speechless. I really am. I mean it's going to go down in one of the ages, Anthony, and as I'm answering, I forgot your question. Did I answer your question?
Anthony Fitzgerald (18:39):
Yeah, absolutely. You used your entire rotation in game seven. It's like these are things that you don't [inaudible 00:18:45].
Dave Roberts (18:45):
Yeah, and I think the thing is that you look around the room and you just see guys, and everyone wants to participate. You just got to figure out when's the right time to call their number and know when to bet on them, when to push them, when to pull the plug. It just makes it a lot easier where I just know these guys are ready for whatever moment that I ask of them.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
Do a couple last ones. Yokan, the third row.
Yokan (19:13):
Congratulations. I know Yoshinobu did really well, but this season and this whole year, you had three Japanese players participated with the Dodgers. How do you evaluate those three players?
Dave Roberts (19:27):
They were all different. I think Shohei obviously has the weight of the world on his shoulders as far as expectations being probably the face of baseball, certainly when you're talking about the world. What he did on … He's going to be the MVP in the National League. It's just really special what he's done and just a great person and a great competitor. Yoshinobu is one of the top pitches in all the baseball. I think he's shown that this postseason and this year. And Roki. Roki's a young player who really had a tough time early and found a way to get back to being healthy and really contribute in a huge way. And so, there's a lot of growth in Roki this year. I know the people in Japan are very proud of their players, and we're just very lucky to have them.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
One last one for Doc. We'll finish up right there on the left. We'll get you the microphone. One second.
Speaker 6 (20:25):
I'm just curious to know, with the offense struggling the way it was throughout the series, how does that impact the way you managed the pitching staff? What's the feeling in the dugout knowing that this team really hasn't hit in the way that prior World Series champions have historically? How did you work that out with the pitching?
Dave Roberts (20:43):
Yeah, you've got to sort of … They were grinding, but, yeah, we didn't swing the bats all postseason like we're capable of. So I think it's just more of you're really trying to, on the margins, prevent as many runs as you can because it wasn't really expecting an offensive game. And so, certainly in a do-or-die game seven, you're trying to do the best you can to prevent runs. But Miggy's hit, Will Smith's hit. Just huge, huge hits. Again, I'm just exhausted.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
Well, we're so happy for you. Congratulations, Dave.
Dave Roberts (21:21):
Thank you, guys. Thank you.
Speaker 7 (21:22):
Congratulations, Doc.
Dave Roberts (21:22):
Thank you, guys.
Speaker 8 (21:22):
Congrats.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
All right. Yoshinobu, congratulations, the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player, the World Champion Dodgers. So we'll get started. Who is the first question? We'll start in the back left corner.
Speaker 9 (21:38):
Congratulations. The other day, Doc told us that before the series you said losing wasn't an option. Obviously no player wants to lose, but for you to say that and then produce the series you did, how do you just handle that from a mental side of things and execute?
Translator (22:49):
First off, I pitched two days in a row. However, because all the players, they were playing right on the edge because of their condition. So, as a result, we were able to close this series by our victory. That was great.
Speaker 5 (23:12):
A couple more in English before we go to Japanese. Anything else in English? We'll do one last one in English and then we'll go to Japanese.
Speaker 10 (23:21):
I'm just curious, you've pitched an awful lot over the last few days. How do you feel physically after what people consider to be a historic performance?
Translator (24:19):
When I started at the bullpen, before I went in, to be honest, I was not really sure if I could pitch up there at my best ability. But as I started getting warmed up, because I started making a little bit adjustment, and then I started thinking I can go in and then do my job.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
All right, we'll take questions in Japanese. We'll start with Dylan on your left.
Dylan (24:47):
[Japanese 00:24:50].
Yoshinobu (24:47):
[Japanese 00:24:54].
Dylan (24:47):
[Japanese 00:25:05].
Yoshinobu (24:47):
[Japanese 00:25:15].
Dylan (24:47):
[Japanese 00:26:20].
Yoshinobu (24:47):
[Japanese 00:26:23].
Speaker 5 (26:49):
Stay on the same row.
Speaker 11 (26:49):
[Japanese 00:26:52].
Yoshinobu (26:49):
[Japanese 00:26:58] …
Speaker 12 (26:49):
[foreign language 00:27:13].
Speaker 5 (27:31):
We'll stay in the same row.
Speaker 13 (27:32):
[foreign language 00:27:33].
Speaker 12 (27:32):
[foreign langauge 00:27:54].
Speaker 5 (28:12):
On your right, Yoshi.
Speaker 14 (28:12):
[foreign language 00:28:14].
Speaker 12 (28:12):
[foreign language 00:28:28].
Speaker 5 (28:36):
In the second row, Yoshi.
Speaker 15 (28:36):
[foreign lnaguage 00:28:41].
Speaker 12 (28:36):
[foreign language 00:28:53].
Speaker 5 (29:07):
Got three more. Next row.
Speaker 16 (29:09):
[foreign language 00:29:11].
Speaker 12 (29:09):
[foreign language 00:29:14].
Speaker 17 (29:09):
[foreign language 00:29:14].
Speaker 12 (29:09):
[foreign language 00:29:14].
Speaker 5 (29:14):
Two more. Discan and Nobu. Discan, on your right.
Speaker 18 (30:10):
Yes. [foreign language 00:30:11].
Speaker 12 (30:10):
[foreign language 00:30:13].
Speaker 18 (30:10):
[foreign language 00:30:13].
Speaker 12 (30:10):
[foreign language 00:30:13].
Speaker 5 (30:12):
We'll finish up with Nobu on your left.
Speaker 19 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:31:22].
Speaker 12 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:31:42].
Speaker 19 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:32:30].
Speaker 12 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:32:34].
Speaker 19 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:32:59].
Speaker 12 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:33:03].
Speaker 19 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:33:21].
Speaker 12 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:33:24].
Speaker 19 (31:21):
[foreign language 00:33:28].
Speaker 5 (33:28):
Yoshinobu, congratulations on a world championship that'll never be forgotten. That's a wrap in here. Thanks to everybody for the coverage. Get home safe and that was a World Series that'll never be forgotten, so thank you.