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Willy Adames continues to rake for the Milwaukee Brewers. During their 9-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, it was Adames who took center stage once again and got Milwaukee off to a strong start that they wouldn't look back from. In the first inning, after a glaring missed call from home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, the Brewers' everyday shortstop launched a pitch from Andre Pallante into orbit, giving them a 3-0 lead that proved to be the springboard for a dominant win.
In so doing, Adames became just the third player in Brewers franchise history to hit a home run in five consecutive games, tying a franchise record that Jeromy Burnitz (1997) and Eric Thames (2017) were jointly holding. What a way this was for Adames to celebrate his 29th birthday, having hit his 29th home run of the season, and he couldn't help but express his emotions as he processes the gravity of the moment.
“For the first time in my career, I got a little emotional. It's something that I've dreamed about since I was a kid. Just doing incredible things like that,” Adames said.
Beyond tying a Brewers franchise record for most consecutive games with a long ball, Willy Adames also hit his 13th three-run home run of the season, which tied an MLB-record in a single season. The only other player to hit 13 three-run dingers in a single season is Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who is quite literally one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, so to be a part of this club is an exceptional feat for the Brewers shortstop.
“It's an honor, just to be right next to a legend and an icon like him. Seeing that reality today is just incredible,” Adames added.
On the season, Willy Adames has hit 29 home runs and driven in 99 runs batted in over the course of 138 games (595 plate appearances). He is on pace to beat his single-season high in home runs (31) with there being 24 games left on the Brewers' season. He will look to go yard again on Tuesday as the Cardinals deploy Steven Matz on the mound.
Willy Adames, the good ol' reliable shortstop for the Brewers
Finding a long-term option at shortstop isn't the easiest task in the MLB. After all, the requirements for being an everyday shortstop in the big leagues are tough to reach, as it is the most difficult position in the infield to play. Thus, the Brewers struck gold when they acquired Willy Adames for such a bargain price back in 2021.
The Tampa Bay Rays, in an attempt to open up the shortstop position, traded Adames away for two pitchers in J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. Rasmussen has been solid for the Rays, tallying 6.2 WAR (per Fangraphs) since arriving on the team, but that still pales in comparison to how well Adames has performed for the Brewers.
Adames, at the time of writing, has put up a WAR total of 15.2 for the Brewers over the course of three and a half seasons — All-Star-level numbers. The concern now, of course, is that Adames is set to enter free agency at the end of the 2024 season. It's unclear just how much the Brewers will be willing to spend, if they are even willing, to keep the 29-year-old shortstop in the Cream City. But Adames is certainly playing his way into a huge contract that should have him and his family set up for generations to come.
