He showed positive signs at the end of the 10-game trip, going 3-for-8 over the weekend in Anaheim to push his average above .200. But Monday, he went 0-for-4 to fall back into the .100s.
“It’s been great so far in terms of the team,” Adames said of the 15-8 Giants. “For me, it takes a while to get going, but as long as we continue to win games, I really don’t care about myself.”
What Adames means as a teammate, especially among young players who are finding their way, can’t necessarily be quantified. “A lot of guys fed off his energy from spring training, and I think that’s why we’re so close this year,” said his double-play partner, second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald, who went 2-for-3 Monday. “It’s something you can’t really teach. That’s just who he is.”
“He’s a great dude in the clubhouse, outside the clubhouse, and plays as hard as he can every single pitch,” said Hayden Birdsong, who pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn his first win of the year. “He might be struggling right now, but I bet a month from now he’ll be raking.”
Adames considers himself a slow starter, and the numbers back it up. His career average in March and April is just .221 (.677 OPS), far different from his best career month of August (.283, .854). Signing a mega-contract and joining a new team could lead to extra pressure, though Adames denied it’s the case for him. He said it’s more about his tendency to start seasons slowly.
“I don’t really worry about it,” he said. “I’m just working, trying to find it right now. It’s how it is, unfortunately for me. It always takes time for me to get going. I always continue to work and try to find my adjustment. And when I click, I just click, and it doesn’t go away.”
