Ehire Adrianza: versatile on the diamond and a wonderful human being

Ehire Adrianza is one of the most versatile players in the major leagues. He’s also one of the reasons the surprising Twins had one of their greatest first 100 games of a season in franchise history, after winning only 78 games in 2018.

But the Venezuelan is a lot more than a player who’s able to play almost anywhere in a baseball diamond.

Adrianza is so important to the Twins’ clubhouse, his manager Rocco Baldelli can envision him having a bright future in management once he decides to put away his playing spikes many years from now.

“He’s a wonderful human being,” the Twins’ rookie manager said about the 29-year old Venezuelan. “I think after he plays for another 10 years in the big leagues, he’ll be a wonderful manager or staff member of some sort if he ever wanted to do that.”

Adrianza, who started his major league career in 2013 with the Giants, has played almost every position in the diamond for the Twins in 2019. He even made an appearance as an emergency relief pitcher.

With a .271 batting average, four home runs and 18 RBI over his first 64 games, he has also contributed on the offensive side.

“He could do pretty much anything you ask him to do and do it well,” Baldelli said. “On top of the defensive contributions, he’s had a great offensive year too. Being a switch-hitter also adds to that versatility.

“On top of all of that he fills a great role in our clubhouse too. I think being that sort of player, it’s also a very important thing how you interact with your teammates and how you interact with everyone, really. We always use terms like utility player and things like that, but I don’t think that term generally does justice for a guy like AD and what he does.”

A natural shortstop, Adrianza has learned over the years how to have a solid performance practically everywhere his team has asked him to play.

The infield?

Great.

The outfield?

No problem.

Relief pitching in an emergency?

OK.

“I enjoy it,” Adrianza said. “I believe they labeled me as a utility player from the day I stepped in a major league diamond for the first time. Over the years, I’ve been learning through experience all I need to know to fulfil that role.

“I’ve learned how to prepare for each and every position. If I’ve got to play in right field on a certain day, I practice in right field for that game. If I’m listed as the left fielder, I go out there to work, hours before the game.”

Adrianza acknowledges that it could feel like a guessing game at times to know where he’s going to play. In fact, part of his daily routine is to figure out where he’s expected to play.

There are times when he’ll know what position he’ll play the night before a game. Whatever the case, it’s important for him to keep things simple and not make them more difficult than they really are.

The mindset has helped him thrive at the highest level.

Having fun on and off the field is something mandatory for Adrianza, who broke up former Yankees great Andy Pettitte’s no-hit bid in his very last Yankee Stadium start on Sept. 22, 2013.

He broke Pettitte’s no-hit bid in the sixth inning with his first major-league home run.

This year it has been easier than usual for a Twins Latino player to enjoy the daily routine.

“I believe about half of the spots on the 25-man roster are filled out by Latinos in this team,” Adrianza said. “It reminds me a lot of the 2014 Giants. That year, we had 12-13 Latinos in our roster, and we won the World Series. We all got along fine. The clubhouse was always a lot of fun. We supported each other. Latinos have played a very important role for this team. I believe it has been a key component, along with all the other players, of course.”

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