New Giant Adames going above and beyond to embrace leadership role originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN JOSE — Willy Adames wasted no time establishing himself as one of the faces of the Giants organization.
After signing a franchise-record seven-year, $182 million contract in early December, Adames immediately got to work as San Francisco’s newest ambassador.
Just days after putting pen to paper on his Giants contract, the veteran shortstop reached out to free-agent starting pitcher Corbin Burnes in an effort to recruit him to San Francisco before his former Milwaukee Brewers teammate eventually signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Then, as he continued his offseason training, Adames traveled to the Giants’ spring training facility in Arizona two weeks ago, where he got to meet many of his new teammates, including star third baseman Matt Chapman, who he will share the left side of the infield with for years to come.
In fact, so many of his new Giants teammates were training at the organization’s Papago Park facility in Phoenix that Adames decided instead of leaving and returning for spring training in February, he would quickly return home to the Dominican Republic, pack his things and return to Arizona permanently, for the spring, to continue training with and getting to know his new teammates.
His efforts to ingratiate himself within the organization didn’t stop there.
Adames, along with Giants teammates Camilo Doval and Jerar Encarnacion visited the Felipe Alou Baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 15 to welcome 17-year-old star shortstop prospect Josuar Gonzalez and the class of 15 players the organization signed to international contracts.
“It was great to be there for them,” Adames told NBC Sports Bay Area on Saturday at Giants Fan Fest in San Jose. “It was great to see, obviously, the complex, but to get to know the guys there. Obviously the young kids that just got signed, for those kids that’s an important day. I was there when I was 16 in that position and I wish I had a big-leaguer on my signing day, it would have been amazing.
“I wanted to give that to them so they can appreciate that day and having a familiar face from the organization. I think it was just a great idea and when they asked me to go I was like ‘yeah, of course.’ it was cool.”
Adames far and away was the most popular figure on Saturday at Fan Fest, and after spending the day interacting with fans at San Pedro Square, traveled up to San Francisco to attend a marquee matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center.
His time with the organization has been short, 50 days to be exact, but Adames has done just about everything he can to help recruit star players, build relationships with current teammates and provide support for the next crop of hometown talent.
“It’s been great. Kind of settled in, comfortable with everything that is happening right now. But it’s been amazing, I can’t complain. Obviously super excited about this opportunity being here in this organization,” Adames shared. “It’s just like a dream, waking up every day, trying to realize this has been happening the last month and a half. Trying to live with it, trying to get used to it.”
His next mission with the organization will take place on the field, where he hopes to prove himself worthy of the team’s historic financial commitment they made to him this offseason.
