Phillies J.T. Realmuto talks ahead of Game 1 of NLCS

More attention, we made some adjustments. Our pitchers were out there working on it before batting practice, stuff like that. And against a team like this in Arizona, obviously that's going to be really important because they have a lot of guys that can steal bases. So one, we're going to try to keep them off the bases, but then when they do get on, we're going to have to really pay attention to them. Some extra picks, some back picks, changing up our times, you know, because that's what they do well. That's one of the things they do really well. So we're going to have to combat that. Bob, left side on the aisle. AJT, from the WBC, having been around Merrill Kelly for two weeks, you guys know him, you caught him. Any advantage there? You know, I actually, I think I only caught him maybe one inning in the WBC. Will caught him his other start or two. So I wouldn't necessarily say there's an advantage. I did get to see his stuff and kind of have a couple of conversations with how he likes to work and how he likes to attack hitters. But, you know, that was six months ago. So who knows if anything's changed there, but, you know, getting to know Merrill, he's a competitor. So it's going to be fun to go out there and compete against him. He's a guy who's going to pound the strike zone. So we know that, and we're going to have to, you know, be ready for it. John, and then to Todd. JT, it's been two months since Trey got that ovation and it really changed his season, obviously. We know how well he's played since then. As a teammate, when you saw that and felt that, what was that experience like for you? It was special. You know, I've said it before, that as a team, none of us like to see anybody on the team struggle, especially somebody of that stature with that much pressure. He comes in with a huge contract, similar to what we saw with Nick coming in. It's tough as a teammate to watch one of your guys go through that. So it honestly, it has an effect on the whole team. You know, when one person's getting booed, it feels like we're all getting booed out there. So to see the team jump behind, or sorry, the fans get behind him and give him that show of support, and then him come through and be successful almost immediately from that point, that was just like a weight lifted off the entire team's shoulders. And I think it showed on the field. We played much better. We played more free. Trey, especially, he was just a completely different player after that. So it was definitely a pivotal moment in our season and it was special to be a part of and get to watch it. Todd. JT, as somebody who has played some first base, I was wondering what your reaction was to the news when Bryce said, I'm going to try to learn to play a position I've never played before at the big league level. And then B, what have you thought about how far he's come and how well he's played? I mean, initially I thought if anybody can do it, it's Bryce. You know, he's a really good athlete. He's a baseball player first and foremost. He's not just got to throw him in one position to make him play that spot. He's an athlete and he can really learn on the fly. And as somebody who went through the process, learning first base is not easy by any means, but it's a position where with reps and with timing, you get a little more comfortable fairly quickly, I think. And he did a really good job of that. I think he's made tremendous strides. He's done a really good job over there. He's filled the position well. I feel like he gives us confidence. Obviously we want to keep his bat in the lineup and him stepping in and playing a good first base has been huge for our lineup. You can do on the aisle here on the left side. Hi, JT. At every level of the post-season, the competition gets stiffer, the pressure gets ramped up. What is your mental process for handling things at every level? And then is there a joint process that is happening within the team itself? Yeah, I think for the most part, we just have to take it one game at a time. Every game at this point in the season is huge for us and they all mean, they all matter so much. So you really just have to step up the intensity and the focus a little bit every day. And for us, really, that started back in September, even before the post-season, every game for us mattered because if we have a bad week, our season's over and we don't get to where we want to go. We don't make it to the post-season. So we've kind of been going through that grind for a while now, which when we step into the post-season, it's almost like second nature for us. It's like, hey, these games matter a lot. This is very important. So we just lay it all out there and we go out there and compete. There's really not a different focus or mentality for us because we've had to go through it since the beginning of September where every game has mattered because we're trying, we're fighting for one goal. Second row on the left. JT, Zach obviously had a pretty nice career with the Mets. You faced him a lot with the Marlins, had a lot of success against them, but have you seen what's kind of been the difference since he got here that's made him kind of one of the now elite pitchers in baseball, the top of the rotation guy who, have you seen, been able to tell what the difference has been from the New York to here? Yeah, for me, it's been his ability to command the strike zone. He's just so consistent. Cause I remember back when he was with the Mets and I would face him, it was every now and then, he'd get a little wild, he'd walk some guys, he'd get himself in trouble with a couple of walks and then it blooped singles, a couple of runs. Whereas to now it feels like he really makes the opposing lineup beat him. Like he's going to attack you inside the strike zone. I think his off speed has gotten better. I think his slider's better. He's able to use both fastballs, the two seam and four seam. Whereas before, I think he was using a little more of one predominantly. So as a right-handed hitter, you could just look for that one fastball. Now it's almost, I mean, he's throwing you two different fastballs, both at 96 to 98 miles an hour, where they're moving completely opposite directions. So it's just so hard to find the barrel. And for me, that's one of the biggest differences, just his ability to absolutely attack the strike zone with every pitch he throws. And there's no fear in him. Like he's not scared of any hitter. He's going to make you beat him in the strike zone. And when you have stuff as good as he does, you're going to be successful with that. Over here on the right side. Hey JT, you guys, I think the six starters so far this post-season have an ERA of 1.5. There's only been four walks from those three guys. How important has that command been? And what have you seen from those three starters so far of raising their level when it comes time to command in these big at-bats? Yeah, in my opinion, that's everything in the post-season is not giving away free bases. Every lineup we're going to face here is going to be really good. Every hitter is going to be focused and locked in. So you're just giving the offense a little bit of momentum every time you give them a free pass and instead of making them earn it. And what we've said all year long with our pitching staff is we really like our stuff. We think we have some of the best stuff in the league from top to bottom. So why not throw the ball in the strike zone? Why not just attack the hitters and make them hit it? Every now and then you're going to give up an 0-0 hit because you're being aggressive and you're throwing the ball in the strike zone. But more often than not, even if they're swinging 0-0, they're ambushing, you're going to get them out, which creates just early contact and early outs. And that's something that Caleb's preached since spring training. And really all of our pitchers have bought into it. And that shows here in the post-season. Like you said, our starters are just absolutely attacking the strike zone, not scared of contact, going right at guys. And that's why they're able to be more successful and pitch deep in the games. Take two more. Paul, in the middle, all the way to the left. In addition to the running game, are there any special challenges that the Diamondbacks present that maybe the Marlins and the Braves didn't? I would say they're just playing a lot like us right now. They're hot. That's what the post-season is all about, is you get in a rhythm, you get confidence, you get momentum. And that's something that they've really played with this post-season. Their lineup's really deep. They have really good right-handed hitters. They have really good left-handed hitters. They hit for power. They hit for average. They walk. They'll take their walks. And then when they do take their walks, most of them are stealing bases. So it's definitely a challenging lineup to navigate through. But the most daunting thing about them right now is how much confidence they're playing with. We'll finish up over here in the front. I just want to ask about what your journey has been like here in Philadelphia. The team did make the playoffs for more than a decade. And then last year, you make it all the way to the World Series. You're four games away. I guess, what's it like been watching the team blossom and develop over the years? And if you've been kind of reflecting on your first years with the ball club? Yeah, I think, obviously, ever since I've been here in 2019, every season we come in and we have high expectations, those first few seasons didn't pan out. We just didn't play well enough. We didn't make the post-season. Last year, we started off really slow. So it kind of felt like, oh, man, we're going through the same thing again. We're not going to live up to our expectations. The whole city is going to be disappointed at us. And then we get hot second half. We have that run in the post-season. And I think that run just really gave this group the confidence of, hey, we are who we think we are. We're as good as we thought we were. And now, this season, we just kind of played with that confidence all season long. Obviously, we started off a little slow. But even when we weren't playing well early in the season, we had the feeling like, hey, guys, we're going to turn this around. We're going to get back to where we want to go. And now, we just have to take that next step this post-season and continue to play with confidence and get a couple more wins than we did last year in the post-season. And if we do that, goal is accomplished.