Oneil Cruz addressed the media prior to today's game against the Rangers, answering questions on his error in last night's loss through interpreter Stephen Morales:
What happened on the error in the first inning?
"It was just a hard line drive right at me. I think I trusted myself too much and it just went by me. I made a mistake."
On Don Kelly pulling him aside to talk to him about that play:
"It’s always good to have a manager like DK. He pulled me to the side and he told me … he went straight to the point. But at the same time, he gave me the courage to continue the game and finish the game the way I did. I played hard."
Do instances like that make you want to play hard for him?
"Definitely. He’s the type of manager that we need to play hard for him the whole time. That goes back to when I was an infielder for Donny. He was always next to me, giving me courage and encouragement, to push me to keep going. We’ve built that relationship for a couple years now. Definitely he’s a guy we want to play hard for."
What did Kelly say?
"I'll keep those to myself. There are some good things that he told me, but I'll keep those to myself."
On how he handles the mental side of things when he's struggling:
"When it comes to the struggles and the mental stuff, I'm not like everybody else. I'm a really normal guy -- I'm not the guy that's like the world's gonna end. I'm just gonna continue to work and trust my abilities, my physical abilities and my ability. Just continue to go out there and play the game."
Maybe didn't go after the ball because infielder instincts kicked in?
"On that situation, I knew I missed the ball, and I thought that Frazier, because outfielders are supposed to back each other, I thought Frazier was closer to me. When I saw him, then I tried to go, he was closer to the ball already. That's why I stayed put."
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THE ASYLUM
Chris Halicke
4:48 pm - 06.21.2025North ShoreCruz on error: 'I trusted myself too much'
Oneil Cruz addressed the media prior to today's game against the Rangers, answering questions on his error in last night's loss through interpreter Stephen Morales:
What happened on the error in the first inning?
"It was just a hard line drive right at me. I think I trusted myself too much and it just went by me. I made a mistake."
On Don Kelly pulling him aside to talk to him about that play:
"It’s always good to have a manager like DK. He pulled me to the side and he told me … he went straight to the point. But at the same time, he gave me the courage to continue the game and finish the game the way I did. I played hard."
Do instances like that make you want to play hard for him?
"Definitely. He’s the type of manager that we need to play hard for him the whole time. That goes back to when I was an infielder for Donny. He was always next to me, giving me courage and encouragement, to push me to keep going. We’ve built that relationship for a couple years now. Definitely he’s a guy we want to play hard for."
What did Kelly say?
"I'll keep those to myself. There are some good things that he told me, but I'll keep those to myself."
On how he handles the mental side of things when he's struggling:
"When it comes to the struggles and the mental stuff, I'm not like everybody else. I'm a really normal guy -- I'm not the guy that's like the world's gonna end. I'm just gonna continue to work and trust my abilities, my physical abilities and my ability. Just continue to go out there and play the game."
Maybe didn't go after the ball because infielder instincts kicked in?
"On that situation, I knew I missed the ball, and I thought that Frazier, because outfielders are supposed to back each other, I thought Frazier was closer to me. When I saw him, then I tried to go, he was closer to the ball already. That's why I stayed put."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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