| Elvis Andrus | |
|---|---|
 Andrus with the Texas Rangers in 2016 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1988-08-26)August 26, 1988 (age 36) Maracay,Venezuela | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 6, 2009, for the Texas Rangers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 2023, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .269 |
| Hits | 2,091 |
| Home runs | 102 |
| Runs batted in | 775 |
| Stolen bases | 347 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Elvis Augusto Andrus Torres (born August 26, 1988) is a Venezuelan-American former professionalbaseballshortstop. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theTexas Rangers,Oakland Athletics, andChicago White Sox. He was a two-timeAll-Star.
Andrus was born in the city ofMaracay inVenezuela. As an international prospect, he signed a contract with theAtlanta Braves at the age of 16 in 2005. Entering 2007, he was rated byBaseball America as the No. 2 prospect in theAtlanta Braves organization. Midway through the 2007 season, Andrus was traded to Texas. Andrus debuted in the major leagues in 2009 as the Rangers'Opening Day starting shortstop at the age of 20. After the season, he finished second inAmerican LeagueRookie of the Year voting.
Andrus earned the first All-Star selection of his career in 2010, later receiving a second selection in 2012. Andrus defended the left side of the Rangers' infield next tothird basemanAdrián Beltré for eight years, forming a friendship that was noted for the former'spractical jokes on the latter.[1] After 12 seasons with the Rangers, Andrus was traded to Oakland in February 2021.
Andrus was starting shortstop with the Athletics for one-and-a-half seasons before being released in 2022. He was then promptly signed by the White Sox, with whom he scored his 1,000th career run. In 2023, he recorded the2,000th hit of his career and played in his 2,000th game.
Andrus was born inMaracay, Venezuela, the son of Emilio and Elvia Andrus. Emilio Andrus was a university professor; he died when Elvis was seven years old.[2] He has two older brothers, Erold and Erikson.[3][4] Some Venezuelan families name their children after famous non-Venezuelan people, but Andrus said that he is not sure whether he was named afterElvis Presley. Andrus said, "I asked my mother a lot of times, but she never told me. Maybe my dad liked Elvis Presley. I'm not sure about that."[2]
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At the age of 16, Andrus signed with theAtlanta Braves and received a signing bonus of $600,000.[5][6] He started the 2005 season with theOrlando Braves of theGulf Coast League, and was promoted toDanville late in the season. He spent 2006 with Class-ARome, being named to theSouth Atlantic League All-Star team.
In 2007, Andrus joined the Class AMyrtle Beach Pelicans of theCarolina League. Andrus was selected to theAll-Star Futures Game in 2007 and 2008.[7][8]
On July 31, 2007, Andrus,Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and threeminor leaguepitchers (Matt Harrison,Neftalí Feliz, and Beau Jones) were traded from the Braves to the Rangers forMark Teixeira andRon Mahay.[9]
With Rangers shortstopMichael Young agreeing to move to third base in 2009, Andrus earned the starting job on Opening Day. He was the second-youngest player in the American League (AL) at the time, older than only pitcherRick Porcello.[10] As Andrus was only 20 years old, Texas signed shortstopOmar Vizquel, then 41 years old, for insurance, but Vizquel played only 27 games at shortstop.[11][12] On May 20, Andrus andsecond basemanIan Kinsler turned atriple play, with Kinsler catching aline drive and throwing to Andrus, who stepped on second base to put out arunner whofailed totag up and thentagged a runner who had left first base.[13] Andrus stole his 20th base on July 28, 2009. Andrus was the tenth player in major league history to steal 20 bases under the age of 21. The last player to do so was his then-teammateAndruw Jones, who had accomplished the feat in 1997 with Atlanta.[citation needed] Andrus finished the 2009 seasonhitting .267 with 6home runs and 33stolen bases, finishing second in American LeagueRookie of the Year voting, behindrelieverAndrew Bailey.[14][15]
Andrus was named to the2010 American League All-Star team. That year, he batted .265 with no home runs.[16] He led the AL insacrifice hits (17), was 2nd incaught stealing (15), and 9th in stolen bases (32).[16][17] In thepostseason, Andrus hit well in the Rangers' first two series, batting .333 with seven steals in 11 games. In theWorld Series, his performance plummeted, batting .176 with zero extra base hits as the Rangers lost to the San Francisco Giants.[18]
In 2011, Andrus batted .279, with 5 home runs.[16] He was 3rd in the AL in sacrifice hits (16), 4th in caught stealing (12), and 5th in stolen bases (37).[16] Defensively, he led all AL shortstops inerrors with 25 and was second among league shortstops with 245putouts and third with 407assists.[16] In the2011 postseason, he hit .235 with onedouble and onebase on balls as the Rangers again won theAmerican League pennant but lost theWorld Series, this time to theSt. Louis Cardinals.[18]
In 2012, Andrus earned his second All-Star selection, batting .286 while leading the AL in sacrifice hits with 17.[16] In the2012 American League Wild Card game, he hit twosingles andgrounded into a double play as the Rangers fell to theBaltimore Orioles.[18]
On April 1, 2013, Andrus signed an eight-year, $120 million extension with the Rangers.[19] He finished the year again leading the AL in sacrifice hits (16) while batting .271 and scoring 91 runs.[16] He had a career-high 42 stolen bases, which tied for third in the AL.[20]
Andrus began the 2014 season with an 11-game hitting streak[21] that ultimately ended when he was ejected on April 13.[22][23] On June 8, Andrus had a 39-game hitting streak against theCleveland Indians snapped as he went 0 for 4. That game marked the first time in his career where he did not get ahit against Cleveland. OnlyVladimir Guerrero had a longer streak against one team (with 44, against Texas).[24] Andrus became the Rangers' all-time stolen base leader in 2014, surpassing former teammate Kinsler's 172 steals.[25] However, he led the AL in caught stealing in 2014, with 15 for the season, while batting .263.[26]
Andrus finished 2015 with career lows in batting average (.258),on-base percentage (.309), and sacrifice hits, while posting a then-career-best seven home runs and stealing 25 bases for theAL West champion Rangers. Defensively, he led the major leagues in assists with 516.[27] He batted .182 in theDivision Series against theToronto Blue Jays and made two of the team's three errors in the pivotal seventh inning of Game 5, won by the Blue Jays.[28]
In 2016, his offense bounced back, with a .302 batting average, eight home runs, and 69 RBIs.
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In 2017, he posted a career-best offensive season, hitting .297 with 20 home runs and 88 RBIs and 25 steals in 158 games. He led the major leagues in fielding assists with 490.[29]
On April 11, 2018,Angels relieverKeynan Middleton hit Andruswith a pitch on his right arm.[30]X-rays andCT scans showed that Andrus had afractured right elbow.[31] He was placed on theinjured list for the first time of his MLB career. He did not need surgery but had to stop baseball activities for several weeks.[32] He was activated on June 18 from the injured list.[33] Andrus finished 2018hitting .256/.308/.367 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI.
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In 2019, Andrus hit .275/.313/.393 with 12 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases. He tied for the AL lead with 10sacrifice flies.[34]
In 2020, Andrus batted .194/.252/.330 with three home runs and seven RBIs in 103 at bats. His .969 fielding percentage was his lowest since 2011.[16]
Andrus ended his tenure with the Rangers as thefranchise's career leader with 305 stolen bases and 105 caught steals. He is second ingames played,at-bats, singles, andtriples, trailing former teammate Michael Young in all four categories.[35]
On February 6, 2021, Andrus andAramis Garcia were traded to the Oakland Athletics forKhris Davis,Jonah Heim, andDane Acker.[36][37] In his first year in Oakland, Andrus batted .243/.294/.320 with 3 home runs, 37 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 146 games. On August 17, 2022, Andrus was released by the Athletics.[38][39] Finances contributed to the Athletics decision, as Andrus was 164plate appearances from earning a $15-millionplayer option for the following season.[40]
TheChicago White Sox signed Andrus to a major league contract on August 19, 2022.[41] He hit better in his 43 games in Chicago than he earlier in the season in Oakland, posting a .773on-base plus slugging percentage with the White Sox, 100 points higher than he had with the Athletics.[16]
On February 20, 2023, Andrus re-signed a with the White Sox for one year.[42] On April 5, Andrus recorded his 2,000 career hit, a single offLogan Webb of the Giants that snapped an 0-for-14 hitless streak.[43][44] For the only time in he career, he played the majority of his games at second base rather than shortstop.[45] In the final game of his MLB career, he went hitless in five at-bats and scored Chicago's only run in a 2–1 loss to theSan Diego Padres.[46] He became afree agent following the 2023 season.[47]
On March 3, 2024, Andrus signed a minor league contract with theArizona Diamondbacks with an invitation tospring training.[48] On March 22, Andrus was released by Arizona after failing to make the Opening Day roster.[49]
Andrus' formal retirement from MLB was announced on September 4, 2024.[50][51] On September 6, he signed aone-day contract with theTexas Rangers and officially retired with the team.[52]
Andrus was a coach for the American League in the 2024All-Star Futures Game.[53]
Andrus is aChristian.[54] In 2012, Andrus donated $12,500 to OurCalling, a Christian charity that helps homeless people in Dallas County.[55]
Andrus' older brother Erold Andrus played as an outfielder in affiliatedMinor League Baseball from 2002 to 2008, then in independent leagues in 2009 and 2010.[56] During spring training in 2011, though Erold was in minor league camp, he played in a Rangers spring training game, which was the first time that Erold and Elvis played in a game together in the United States.[57]
Andrus' brothers were in Venezuela duringprotests in early 2014, which led him to talk with them every day to confirm their safety. "As a human being, you always get angry when you see what's happening with the military back home doing stuff to the civils, and to the students, and that's what really gets me angry... I'm not a political guy, but I just hate when you see somebody just walking and trying to say something get hit by police, or get hit by any military from the country that's supposed to defend the country instead of shoot him or hit him," he said.[58]
Andrus married Cori Febles in a ceremony at their home on June 1, 2017.[59] Their first child, a son named Elvis Emilio, was born on July 6, 2017.[60] They held a larger wedding reception in theDominican Republic in November 2017.[61] On November 28, 2018, their second child, a girl named Lucia Alessandra, was born. In 2019, Andrus adopted "Baby Shark" as hiswalk-up song because it reminded him of his children.[62]
On July 26, 2019, Andrus became anaturalized U.S. citizen.[63]
In 2023, Andrus invested inBaseball United, a planned baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia.[64]
