Ondřej Satoria: We would like to finish the tournament with a win

Czech managers sent Ondřej Satoria on the mound against France after the team lost the quarterfinals. The pitchers responded with an excellent performance and he wasn’t far from pitching a shoutout.

We wanted to talk with Ondřej right after the game finished, but we had to take our turn as the national team pitcher agreed to all requests for photos and signatures.

Ondřej, are you exhausted?

Not really. The signings might have been more exhausting than the game. (he laughs)

Your second game and the second win. We also heard you say in the first game you have “daddy power”. Is this what is behind your performance?

Yes, that’s a good phrase. It is “daddy power”. I finally know what it means, because guys from the team, who already have a baby, kept mentioning it. Now I have my own experience and it’s great.

We wanted to play a better game after the two losses. Was there more responsibility than usual?

The only responsibility I felt was to the people. They came and they cheered us on. We didn’t manage to turn it into semifinals. The way I see it, there’s not going to be anything worse than Japan. I won’t ever play a tougher game.

You finished the first game without allowing a run. The second almost looked the same. Did you feel any regret at the end?

I was really angry. If it didn’t happen, I would be happier. I feel sorry. On the other hand, we got the win, which is more important. I’m happy we came back like this after the tough loss. We would like to finish the tournament with a win. Mainly for the people, who deserve it for all the support.

You played championship on the home turf after nine years. Despite not playing for the medals there was a lot of fans who keep supporting you. There was also a lot of fans who came to you after the game to get a signature or a photo. What does this mean for you?

I’m really grateful. Mainly because it shows baseball reached more people after Tokyo. It’s not just core fans, but also common people, who just “got into it” out of nowhere. I’m really happy for this. Even if things don’t work out and the tournament doesn’t end according to our expectations, at least the baseball gets good advertisement, which is important.

Let’s get back to your performance. French batters didn’t give you much trouble. What worked against them and what was your plan coming in?

It was like the fifth game against France I pitched. Along with Martin Červenka, we told ourselves they like to swing the first pitches. So we tried to keep the pitches low and use the Worker. It always work against aggressive hitters.

Arnošt Dubový gave you a two run cushion in the second inning. Were you surprised he was the one to hit a homerun?

Arny is not exactly a batter who hits homeruns, so I’m really happy for him. Starter can always breath easier when offense gives him some runs. I can then calm down and know I can “allow myself” to make a mistake.