Q. When you look at kind of things offensively at the plate, especially in the postseason, what's the mindset for you? And especially knowing that, I know you're not in lineup today, but considering this group of lefties you're going to be seeing, there's likely more opportunity than we've already seen thus far.
ALEX CALL: I think, for me, it's just about trying to do what I've always done, take good at-bats and find a way to get on first base.
You would love to deliver in clutch moments and hit home runs and everything. But for me it's just about trusting the process to be who I am. And even though it's the postseason, not having anything change because what I do best is just trying to get on first base and play great defense and do everything else, do all the little things. And then just trust that the results are going to be there.
Even though it's a shorter season in the postseason, you still have to kind of trust the process and the longevity of it and just trust your process.
Q. I know when you came over at the trade deadline, you talked a lot about just kind of the whirlwind of changes but also the excitement of being with this organization and the resources that you'll have. When did you find just things kind of clicked for you, especially offensively in Dodger blue?
ALEX CALL: It was quite the transition just to kind of just -- whenever you're walking into a new locker room, a new organization, a bunch of new people that you don't really know personally, there's always that little transition. But they did a great job of just trying to make me feel comfortable and opening up their arms.
I just tried to dive into all the resources they had and the things they had available to me to -- I like to try and make sure that I'm taking advantage of every opportunity there is. So I try to use every bit of technology and stuff that the Dodgers have.
For me it was really just -- maybe took a week or two just to feel comfortable, settle in. And, again, it was guys just coming up to me and saying, hey, we got you because you do this and you do this, and that's all you have to do.
That's how I looked at myself; this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to be who I am and I'm going to play the game I know how to play in the way that I play it, and that's going to help the team.
Q. As a guy who has platooned a lot, is there any advantage to facing lefty, lefty, lefty for somebody like you in your role?
ALEX CALL: Yeah, I think, no matter what, I pride myself in just being ready for whatever comes my way. Certainly the more at-bats you string together theoretically there's an advantage there.
But just from the work I do with watching pitchers on my headset, and when we're at home, facing guys on the machine, just really just trying to make sure that I'm getting my compete at-bats on all the time, even if it's not in the game, finding a way to compete and kind of turn that side of my brain on, so that I'm ready for the moment, so that it feels normal whenever I step in there, even if it's a couple of days in between.
But, yeah, certainly getting a few looks in a row is helpful, I think, and just the rhythm of things.
Q. You started with a team at the beginning of the season that's currently going through a rebuild, and you're sitting here now in the NLDS with the Dodgers. What are the emotions like for you? Have you been able to sit down and process what you've been through this season?
ALEX CALL: Yeah, certainly. It really started right away when I got the call saying, hey, you're going to the Dodgers. It's, like, the Dodgers are the World Series favorites at this moment. So that's what I'm envisioning in my head starting right now, really, from the time I got the call.
I just kind of thought about it. I'm still texting my Nationals teammates and things like that. And they're at home, and I'm here lucky to be playing postseason baseball, something that every kid dreams of doing, playing in a crazy loud stadium, a packed stadium in the playoffs. It's really what you dream of.
Just me and my wife, we just kind of reminisce on it at the end of the day and, like, man, this is so awesome, this is so fun. And just to have a role on a team that's this good is also just a really special moment. Just from all the things I've been through throughout my career, grinding to just make it to the Major Leagues, and then establish myself as a Major Leaguer, and ultimately be a contributor on a World Series contender, just praise the Lord for how he's taken care of it.
Q. Obviously last year this team had a penchant for doing stuff like they did in Game 1, sort of coming back after early adversity. (Indiscernible) fresher set of eyes that you saw about your guys' ability to rally back, especially with how loud this environment got?
ALEX CALL: I think just the quality at-bats that the guys are taking and have taken throughout the course of the season, I think it's really just about -- it just feels like a matter of time. I think with the quality of guys in the lineup and the quality of players we have and the quality at-bats they take, it's going to be a lot for the opposing team just to continue to have to execute their pitches over and over again. And it's our job to continue to make them work.
I think you grind it out. You grind it out each game, each pitch, each inning, each series, guys are going to start to wear down. We're going to get more comfortable and just continue to make it tough on them.
No matter what the score is, it always feels like it's just a matter of time. That's kind of the mentality.
Q. After Game 1, quite a few guys talked about the message from Aaron Bates before the game. And I was wondering why is that something that seemed to resonate with you as a group?
ALEX CALL: It was just kind of -- it's almost like an inside joke that it was -- but what he said was ringing true. It's like, hey, the crowd's going to be into it. They're going to probably do something to score some runs. Just don't be shocked by it. At the end of the day, we're going to be right there in the game at the end of the game and have a chance to pull out a victory.
So just almost, like, prepping us for, hey, it's going to get loud, it's going to get crazy, but who cares. We're going to go out there, take our at-bats. We're going to deliver when the time matters. And we did. It was like he put it out there before it happened.
Q. I know you were talking about this team and knowing the opportunity and the chances are going to come. Considering how successful you guys were in the regular season just with comeback wins, does that just add to the mindset, the confidence of whether it was Bates or just you all feel?
ALEX CALL: I think that goes a long way. When the other team scores and, I think, if the first thing you feel is, oh, shoot, that's not a good sign. Versus when the other team scores and maybe even puts up a crooked number, and you're like, okay, we've just have however many more innings, we have plenty of time left.
I think that's just physiologically, it's a different feeling that the team can have. And I've been on the side where it feels like, oh, here we go again, versus, hey, we're going to come back and probably win this game.
I think it just speaks to the group as a whole, quality of players as a whole, that that's how everybody's feeling. And then as it starts to actually happen over and over again, then it just kind of continues to build the confidence.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports