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<\/p>\nSAN DIEGO \u2014 Willy Adames is preparing himself for an emotional weekend.<\/p>\n
He will visit Milwaukee\u2019s retractable-roof ballpark for the first time since leaving the Brewers to sign a seven-year, $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants in 2024, and no, this is not likely to be one of those homecomings set to a soundtrack of cascading boos. Adames probably won\u2019t be greeted with hand-drawn posterboards festooned with dollar signs and unkind words.<\/p>\n
Milwaukee fans are world-weary and wise when it comes to free agency. They are conditioned to disappointment. And besides, Adames exuded so much positive energy in his 3 1\/2 seasons in a Brewers uniform, flashing his radiant smile and creating happy memories. He cannot be viewed as someone who turned heel.<\/p>\n
When the Brewers won the National League Central last season, Adames was their run-producing engine. He drove in 112 runs and finished 10th in NL MVP balloting. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio called Adames the second-best shortstop in franchise history after Robin Yount. After Adames signed with the Giants, Brewers GM Matt Arnold described him as \u201ceverything you could ever hope for in a player and person. The Giants are lucky to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brewers knew they wouldn\u2019t make a competitive offer to retain Adames. They also knew that somehow, they had to replace his production. You\u2019d have to consider that box checked, given Milwaukee\u2019s 14-game winning streak that ended Sunday and their major league-best 78-45 record entering Monday night. They are second in the majors in runs scored, even though they are second to last in average exit velocity.<\/p>\n
Adames has some idea how they\u2019ve been doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have something special going on,\u201d Adames said before the Giants\u2019 series opener Monday night against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. \u201cI don\u2019t know the motivation behind it, but I know they have good people there. They definitely have good energy going because you don\u2019t win that many games without good energy in the clubhouse and good relationships in there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know maybe 95 percent of the guys there and I\u2019m happy for them. It looks like they\u2019re having fun every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adames might feel like he\u2019s watching the Brewers\u2019 success through a windowpane streaked with raindrops. The Giants are not having fun every day. They have a similar walk rate to the Brewers, a similar barrel percentage and they\u2019ve hit just 15 fewer home runs. However, the Brewers lead the majors in runs with 645; the Giants rank 25th with 509.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Willy Adames had a career-high 21 stolen bases in 2024 with the Brewers. (Thearon W. Henderson \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
There are layers upon layers of factors that help explain the difference between the two clubs: The Brewers don\u2019t strike out as often, they use their team speed to put pressure on opponents, and yes, they\u2019ve had a healthy amount of batted-ball luck on their side. However, ask Adames for his assessment and he\u2019ll drop an immediate one-word response.<\/p>\n
\u201cBase running,\u201d Adames said. \u201cBecause they know how to run the bases. I\u2019m 100 percent sure that they\u2019ve got to be top three at running the bases. I\u2019m confident they have to be top three, and playing really great defense, too. That\u2019s how you win. If you know how to run the bases, if you know how to take an extra bag or steal or play aggressive baseball, that makes a huge difference. I know because they played the same way last year, and they won a lot of games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it for sure. Because they\u2019re not top three in hitting homers. They\u2019re hustling doubles and going to first to third. They are manufacturing those runs in a different way. They knew, \u2018Hey, we lost a run producer, so how are we going to fix things? We\u2019ve got to run more. We\u2019ve got to take advantage of every situation.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThey play with their soul on the field. They play hard. They dive for everything. They hustle and that\u2019s something you can\u2019t teach. They\u2019re dogs, man. They play hard and aggressive. That\u2019s how you win. You can\u2019t play safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adames isn\u2019t wrong. The Brewers lead the majors with plus-15 base-running runs added, according to Statcast. The Giants rank 29th at minus-6 and haven\u2019t resembled president Buster Posey\u2019s stated goal to build a lineup that can score runs in myriad ways.<\/p>\n
In last Friday\u2019s home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, when Adames and Jung Hoo Lee stole second base and scored on base hits, it marked the first time the Giants attempted multiple stolen bases in a game since June 8.<\/p>\n
The calculated difference between the Giants and Brewers in runs created or lost on the basepaths only accounts for roughly 15 percent of the scoring gulf between the two teams. However, teams that combine speed with smarts tend to exert enough pressure to break an opponent. Maybe it\u2019s no fluke that the Brewers\u2019 offense leads the majors in unearned runs.<\/p>\n
The Giants have not exerted that kind of pressure, and Adames has been as passive as everyone else. He stole 21 bases for the Brewers last season. He\u2019s stolen six in eight tries this year. You have to play to the scoreboard, of course, which means limiting the risks you take on the basepaths when your team is trailing by multiple runs. It\u2019s difficult for the Giants to push the envelope when the opposing starter keeps stamping their hitters with \u201creturn to sender.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the losses mounted on the last two homestands, though, Adames decided something had to change. A little more than a week ago, he walked into Giants manager Bob Melvin\u2019s office and asked for a standing green light to run.<\/p>\n
Melvin\u2019s response: \u201cYeah. I\u2019m all for it. I want him to be aggressive, and I want him to have the green light.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Giants finally snapped their seven-game losing streak on Sunday, Adames created a difference-making spark on the basepaths. He took advantage of a loopy relay throw to score from first base on Dom Smith\u2019s bases-loaded single. It was the Giants\u2019 first three-run single since Sept. 8, 1988, when Kirt Manwaring drove in Kevin Mitchell and Mike Aldrete and Joel Youngblood came sprinting home behind them.<\/p>\n
\ufeff<\/p>\n
Adames said his aim in that moment went beyond scoring a run or getting an extra RBI for a teammate. He wanted to prove a point.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes a play like that can mean more than a homer,\u201d Adames said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to get the team fired up. It\u2019s, \u2018Oh my God, I want to do that next time.\u2019 It\u2019s setting up an example for the younger guys. Just go for it. Even if you get thrown out, at least you\u2019re playing aggressive, you\u2019re not being lazy or trying to play it safe. That\u2019s the right way to play and it\u2019s how teams win. In October, if you don\u2019t know how to run the bases, you won\u2019t win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where we need to get better. It\u2019s true. If we were better at (base running), the season would be way different than (it is) now. \u2026 When you hit bottom like this, you talk about the things you need to be better at. You write it down. Obviously, if we can turn it around this season, that would be great. But if not, for the future, we have to be way better at these things. I\u2019ve never been on a stretch that bad as a team. It\u2019s tough. How can I help the guys get better? How can I help myself to be better? We know we\u2019ve got a lot to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be fascinating to see how Posey creates a contact-oriented, pressure-inducing lineup when the Giants have plenty of strikeouts baked into the middle of their lineup. Rafael Devers might have the difference-making power that the franchise has craved since Barry Bonds left the scene, but his 31 percent strikeout rate since arriving in a mid-June trade with the Boston Red Sox is the third highest in the league.<\/p>\n
Adames ranked eighth in the NL in strikeouts even while putting up MVP numbers last season, and his strikeout rate this season (26.4 percent) is a smidge higher. Matt Chapman posted a 202-strikeout season in 2021 with the Oakland A\u2019s, and the whiffs come in drifts when he\u2019s in one of his cold spells.<\/p>\n
The Giants will have to make their peace with strikeouts in the middle of the lineup, but they cannot afford to be so whifftastic with the players that surround them. For all the speed and tools that players like Tyler Fitzgerald and Grant McCray bring to the roster, their high strikeout rates won\u2019t be so tolerable. Especially when you consider that the organization\u2019s top prospect, Bryce Eldridge, is a 6-foot-7 power hitter who has a 33 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A Sacramento (60 in 180 plate appearances).<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Adames hit 119 home runs in three-plus seasons with the Brewers. (Todd Kirkland \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s bat-to-ball skills that this organization is profiling right now,\u201d Melvin said. \u201cIf you look at the draft and the trades, it\u2019s less about exit velocity and power and more about putting the ball in play. It\u2019s the direction the front office wants to go. You do want some guys with power and you backfill with a different player profile. That\u2019s how you potentially (create) a good mix.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Giants also could stand to create some good vibes. Adames said those vibes came from several sources during his time in Milwaukee, and Bob Uecker, the beloved Hall of Fame broadcaster who died in January, was a daily source of positive energy. The Brewers will hold a celebration of life for Uecker on Sunday when the Giants and Adames happen to be in town. Adames said he wanted to attend Uecker\u2019s service earlier this year, but it was a private affair for family only. He commissioned a pair of custom Uecker-themed cleats that he plans to wear for the weekend series.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to feel like I\u2019m contributing to it,\u201d Adames said. \u201cHe was always so positive. You could see the love he had for the game and for the guys in there. If you were struggling, he\u2019d come in the clubhouse and you\u2019d smile right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adames laughs when he thinks about the bond that his father, Romulo, and Uecker made over the years. They would send gifts to each other. The signed Bob Uecker bobblehead still has a prominent place in the Adames family home. The autographed bottle of whiskey that Uecker sent is probably long gone, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became really close to my dad, and they didn\u2019t even speak the same language!\u201d Adames said. \u201cI never understood how they communicated, but he used to ask me about my dad every day: \u2018When\u2019s he coming back? How\u2019s he doing?\u2019 And my dad was the same way. They\u2019re both high energy all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adames hopes to bring that energy to the visiting dugout in Milwaukee this weekend \u2014 and tip his cap to Brewers fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey showed love for me always,\u201d Adames said. \u201cEvery day, even when I was struggling, they believed in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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