| Matt Adams | |
|---|---|
 Adams with the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: (1988-08-31)August 31, 1988 (age 37) Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 20, 2012, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 24, 2021, for the Colorado Rockies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .258 |
| Home runs | 118 |
| Runs batted in | 399 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Matthew James Adams (born August 31, 1988[1][2]) is an American former professionalbaseballfirst baseman. Nicknamed"Big City" for his imposing size and ability to regularly hit long home runs, theSt. Louis Cardinals selected Adams in the 23rd round of the2009 MLB draft fromSlippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for the Cardinals,Atlanta Braves,Washington Nationals, andColorado Rockies.
Playing in theTexas League in 2011, Adams was recognized as that league's Most Valuable Player and the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year with a .300batting average, 32home runs and 101runs batted in. He made hisMajor League Baseball (MLB) debut with theSt. Louis Cardinals in 2012. In his rookie season in 2013, Adams hit 17 home runs in 296 at-bats. He won the2019 World Series with theWashington Nationals.
Adams grew up inPhilipsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania. After graduating fromPhilipsburg-Osceola High School he attendedSlippery Rock University[3] where he holds the career records ofbatting average (.473) andslugging percentage (.754). In 2009, he was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Division II National Player of the Year.[4][5]
TheSt. Louis Cardinals drafted Matt Adams in the 23rd round of the2009 Major League Baseball draft.[6] At each level he played in theminor leagues, Adams displayed prodigious hitting ability. His first full-season assignment came in 2010 with theQuad Cities River Bandits of theSingle–AMidwest League. In 121 games, he batted .310 with 71runs scored, 44doubles, 22home runs (HR), and 88runs batted in (RBI). His .541 slugging percentage (SLG) led all Cardinals minor leaguers.
In 2011, Adams was named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year and theTexas League Most Valuable Player (MVP) after hitting .300, a .357on-base percentage (OBP) and .566 SLG with 32 HR and 101 RBI in 115 games. He set club records in home runs and RBI, including eclipsing the mark of 29 HRColby Rasmus set in 2007.[5][7] After the season, Adams played in theArizona Fall League (AFL), and he was selected to represent the Cardinals in the AFL Rising Stars Game.[8]
Prior to the 2012 season,Baseball America considered him the ninth best prospect in the Cardinals organization.[9] On May 20, 2012, the Cardinals called Adams up after placingLance Berkman on thedisabled list (DL). He went 2-for-4 in his major league debut.[10][11] He hit his first major league home run six days later. Adams played in 27 games with the Cardinals where he hit .244 with 13 RBI and two home runs before returning to Memphis.[12]
Splitting time between theMemphis Redbirds of theTriple–APacific Coast League and the Cardinals, he continued to show consistent power and batting average in the minor leagues. At Memphis, Adams hit 18 home runs with 50 RBI as he batted .329 with a .624 slugging percentage.[12] However, an elbow injury brought an early end to his 2012 season. The injury, which had been a nagging problem much of summer, finally had to be treated surgically in mid-August to remove a bone spur.[13]
Adams led the Cardinals in 2013 spring training with 17 RBI.[4] It was at that point that Adams earned his nickname, "Big City." According to former teammateDavid Freese, several players had been searching for a nickname for the 6 ft 3 inch 230-pounder, when one day someone shouted out "Big City". Said Freese: "Well he's a big boy that can rake [the ball]. I guess it hit because the guy can flat-out hit."[14] Adams started off the regular season on the St. Louis Cardinals roster as a bench player, backing up first basemanAllen Craig. He caught the attention of the fans and media early on when in his first ten plate appearances he hit three home runs, two doubles, three singles, and a walk.[15] For a significant part of April, his batting average hovered between .640 and .700.[4]
With a rightobliquestrain, the Cardinals placed Adams on the 15-day disabled list on April 26, retroactive to April 22.[16] As the season progressed, teams began to notice hispull-hitting tendencies and often employed an extremeinfield shift on him that left one or no fielders on the left side of thesecond base bag. He also had difficulty hittingoff-speed pitches from left-handedpitchers. Because he often grounded out to the right side of the bag, his batting average began to precipitously decline. In June, he batted just .179 and .205 in August.[17]
At the conclusion of his rookie season, Adams finished with a .284 batting average and .503 SLG. He connected for 17 HR in 296 AB for a ratio of one home run every 17.41 at bats. That represented the third-best figure for rookies in franchise history. His home run to fly ball ratio was 21.8%, ranking 11th in the major leagues for all players with at least 300 PA.[18] Regularright fielderCarlos Beltrán became afree agent after the season. Craig shifted to right field to replace him, clearing a way for Adams to assume first base regularly.[19]
During a game against theCincinnati Reds on April 3, 2014 inCincinnati, Adams was attempting to catch aChris Heisey pop-up that sailed into the shallow part of the seats. The infield tarp was in Adams' run path. As he leaned over the tarp to catch the ball, it was falling toward the second row of seats, and a fan named Chris Smith caught the ball with his own glove just above Adams' outstretch glove. Adams shifted his momentum to stand back up behind the tarp, and planted his glove on Smith's chest, pushing himself backward with a moderate shove. Smith, who had been recovering from knee surgery, gestured an obscenity with his hand toward him. During post-game interviews, Adams stated that he did not realize he had shoved Smith, but that he was preventing himself from falling into the stands.[20]
Opponents escalated the rate of infield shifting the employed against Adams in 2014, as it was already a league-wide trend. To foil the shift, he began to hit the ball more to left field (also a technique known as "taking the pitch the other way") from the outset of the season.[17] Another difference from the season prior was that he did not hit his first home run until the eleventh game of 2014, which took place against theChicago Cubs. The results of his modified approach began to show, as he was batting .357 with a .400 OBP and .548 SLG through that game.[21] Despite the drop-off in the power numbers, he continued to hit well against the shift. As of June 10, he was batting .390 (16 for 41) on ground balls and line drives against the shift with three home runs for the year. He also did it without successfullybunting for a base hit.[22]
The team placed Adams on the DL for the second time in his MLB career from May–June.[23] After his return, he homered in the first three games.[24] His first multi-homer game of the season came against theColorado Rockies on June 23 atCoors Field with two home runs and six RBI in an 8–0 victory.[25] This was Adams' third MLB multi-home run game and first the six-RBI game for the Cardinals sinceDavid Freese did it June 7,2012 against theHouston Astros.[26] In a July 7 contest against thePittsburgh Pirates, Adams hit the firstwalk-off home run in the regular season by a Cardinals batter sinceSkip Schumaker did so against theKansas City Royals in2011.[27]
In Game 4 of the 2014NLDS, Adams erased theLos Angeles Dodgers' 2–0 lead in the 7th inning with a three-run homer off aceClayton Kershaw. The home run accounted for the winning runs in the Cardinals' 3–2 victory, helping to secure their fourth straightNLCS appearance.[28]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2017) |
On May 27, 2015, the Cardinals placed Adams on the DL with a torn quadriceps muscle, and he was initially supposed to miss the remainder of the season.[29] The Cardinals reactivated him on September 9.[30] As anarbitration-eligible player prior to the2016 season, Adams and the Cardinals agreed to a one-year, $1.65 million contract.[31] He continued his success in foiling the shift through May 2016 by a slight modification to his swing, and as a result, successfully gaining hits to each of the three outfield zones over 30 percent of the time. He had hit .354, three home runs, 14 RBI and .604 SLG through the first 25 days of that month.[32]
On July 22, 2016, while playing theDodgers, Adams hit a 444 feet (135 m) home run in the 16th inning for walk-off, 4−3, win. It was the second time in his career he had hit a walk-off home run in the 16th inning.[33]
On May 20, 2017, the Cardinals traded Adams and cash considerations to theAtlanta Braves in exchange for minor league infielderJuan Yepez.[34][35]
Adams signed a one-year contract with theWashington Nationals on December 22, 2017.[36] On May 7, 2018, he homered twice versus theSan Diego Padres, giving him his sixth and seventh in seven games, along with 13 RBI. He had hit 10 home runs through that point in the season.[37] Before he was traded, with the Nationals in 2018 he batted .257/.332/.510 with 18 home runs and 48 RBIs.[38]
On August 21, 2018, Adams was traded to theSt. Louis Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations.[39] With the Cardinals in 2018, he batted .158/.200/.333 in 57 at bats. Between the two teams in 2018, he batted .239/.309/.477 with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs in 306 at bats.[38]
On December 15, 2018, Adams agreed to a one year, $4 million deal with the Washington Nationals.[40] In 2019 he batted .226/.276/.465 with 20 home runs and 56 RBIs as the Nationals went on to win the 2019 World Series.[41] The Nationals did not exercise a mutual option to bring Adams back for the2020 season.[42]
On January 31, 2020, Adams signed a minor league contract with theNew York Mets.[43] He elected to become a free agent on July 18.[44]
On July 20, 2020, Adams signed a minor league contract with theAtlanta Braves organization.[45] He was informed that he made the Braves' Opening Day roster on July 23. In 16 games for Atlanta, Adams batted .184/.216/.347 with two home runs and nine RBI. He was designated for assignment by the Braves on August 30, and released by the organization on September 3.[46][47][48]
On March 28, 2021, Adams signed a minor league contract with theColorado Rockies organization.[49][50][51] He began the year with the Triple–AAlbuquerque Isotopes. On April 29, Adams was selected to the active roster.[52] Adams hit .167/.250/.194 in 22 games for the Rockies before he was released on July 27.[53]
On April 21, 2022, Adams signed with theKansas City Monarchs of theAmerican Association of Professional Baseball.[54] Adams played in 80 games for the Monarchs, slashing .248/.327/.554 with 27 home runs and 85 RBI. He was named an All-Star for the team in 2022.[55] Adams was released by the Monarchs on August 25.[56]
On December 14, 2022, Adams signed a minor league deal with theWashington Nationals organization.[57] He played in 102 games for the Triple–ARochester Red Wings, batting .246/.296/.431 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI. Adams elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.[58]
On January 29, 2024, Adams signed with theToros de Tijuana of theMexican League.[59] In 62 games for Tijuana, he slashed .272/.309/.491 with 12 home runs and 53 RBI.
On September 15, 2024, Adams announced his retirement from baseball in anInstagram post. He signed a one-day contract with St. Louis to retire a Cardinal.[60]
On January 17, 2025, theSan Diego Padres hired Adams to serve as the bench coach for their Triple-A affiliate, theEl Paso Chihuahuas.[61]
Adams and his wife, Kim, married in 2020.[62] They reside in St. Louis during the offseason.[63]
Prior to the 2017 season, Adams lost over thirty pounds.[64]
