SAN DIEGO — Willy Adames is preparing himself for an emotional weekend.
He will visit Milwaukee’s 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’t be greeted with hand-drawn posterboards festooned with dollar signs and unkind words.
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.
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 “everything you could ever hope for in a player and person. The Giants are lucky to have him.”
The Brewers knew they wouldn’t make a competitive offer to retain Adames. They also knew that somehow, they had to replace his production. You’d have to consider that box checked, given Milwaukee’s 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.
Adames has some idea how they’ve been doing it.
“They have something special going on,” Adames said before the Giants’ series opener Monday night against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. “I don’t know the motivation behind it, but I know they have good people there. They definitely have good energy going because you don’t win that many games without good energy in the clubhouse and good relationships in there.
“I know maybe 95 percent of the guys there and I’m happy for them. It looks like they’re having fun every day.”
Adames might feel like he’s watching the Brewers’ 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’ve hit just 15 fewer home runs. However, the Brewers lead the majors in runs with 645; the Giants rank 25th with 509.
Willy Adames had a career-high 21 stolen bases in 2024 with the Brewers. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
There are layers upon layers of factors that help explain the difference between the two clubs: The Brewers don’t strike out as often, they use their team speed to put pressure on opponents, and yes, they’ve had a healthy amount of batted-ball luck on their side. However, ask Adames for his assessment and he’ll drop an immediate one-word response.
“Base running,” Adames said. “Because they know how to run the bases. I’m 100 percent sure that they’ve got to be top three at running the bases. I’m confident they have to be top three, and playing really great defense, too. That’s 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.
“That’s it for sure. Because they’re not top three in hitting homers. They’re hustling doubles and going to first to third. They are manufacturing those runs in a different way. They knew, ‘Hey, we lost a run producer, so how are we going to fix things? We’ve got to run more. We’ve got to take advantage of every situation.’
“They play with their soul on the field. They play hard. They dive for everything. They hustle and that’s something you can’t teach. They’re dogs, man. They play hard and aggressive. That’s how you win. You can’t play safe.”
Adames isn’t 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’t resembled president Buster Posey’s stated goal to build a lineup that can score runs in myriad ways.
In last Friday’s 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.
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’s no fluke that the Brewers’ offense leads the majors in unearned runs.
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’s 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’s difficult for the Giants to push the envelope when the opposing starter keeps stamping their hitters with “return to sender.”
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’s office and asked for a standing green light to run.
Melvin’s response: “Yeah. I’m all for it. I want him to be aggressive, and I want him to have the green light.”
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’s bases-loaded single. It was the Giants’ 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.
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.
“Sometimes a play like that can mean more than a homer,” Adames said. “It’s going to get the team fired up. It’s, ‘Oh my God, I want to do that next time.’ It’s setting up an example for the younger guys. Just go for it. Even if you get thrown out, at least you’re playing aggressive, you’re not being lazy or trying to play it safe. That’s the right way to play and it’s how teams win. In October, if you don’t know how to run the bases, you won’t win.
“This is where we need to get better. It’s true. If we were better at (base running), the season would be way different than (it is) now. … 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’ve never been on a stretch that bad as a team. It’s tough. How can I help the guys get better? How can I help myself to be better? We know we’ve got a lot to work on.”
It’ll 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.
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’s, and the whiffs come in drifts when he’s in one of his cold spells.
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’t be so tolerable. Especially when you consider that the organization’s 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).
Adames hit 119 home runs in three-plus seasons with the Brewers. (Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
“Well, it’s bat-to-ball skills that this organization is profiling right now,” Melvin said. “If you look at the draft and the trades, it’s less about exit velocity and power and more about putting the ball in play. It’s the direction the front office wants to go. You do want some guys with power and you backfill with a different player profile. That’s how you potentially (create) a good mix.”
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’s 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.
“Just to feel like I’m contributing to it,” Adames said. “He 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’d come in the clubhouse and you’d smile right away.”
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.
“He became really close to my dad, and they didn’t even speak the same language!” Adames said. “I never understood how they communicated, but he used to ask me about my dad every day: ‘When’s he coming back? How’s he doing?’ And my dad was the same way. They’re both high energy all the time.”
Adames hopes to bring that energy to the visiting dugout in Milwaukee this weekend — and tip his cap to Brewers fans.
“They showed love for me always,” Adames said. “Every day, even when I was struggling, they believed in me.”
(Top photo: Jeff Dean / Getty Images)