Brewers shortstop Willy Adames says the World Baseball Classic has a more 'electric' atmosphere than the MLB playoffs
PHOENIX – One of the most integral parts of the Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse was back at American Family Fields of Phoenix on Friday morning, though his return was sooner than he would have liked.
Shortstop Willy Adames had hoped to have a long stay at the World Baseball Classic as part of Team Dominican Republic, but the tournament favorites were bounced during pool play earlier in the week.
“I wish the results were different but it is what it is,” Adames said. “It’s baseball.”
Adames appeared in only one game, going 2 for 4 with a double, but was left speechless by the atmosphere.
“I never felt anything like that before,” Adames said. “The playoffs are loud but it’s not the same. The energy is different. It’s way more electric than the playoffs. It’s just different baseball. The atmosphere is incredible.”
Team Dominican Republic played its pool games in Miami alongside Puerto Rico and Venezuela, all of which had a fierce contingent of fans in attendance.
“So loud, intense,” Adames said. “They were so into the game. You could feel the fans being on top of you. It was just incredible.”
Adames said the experience was tied with playing in the 2020 World Series while with Tampa Bay for his favorite baseball memory.
“For us, it’s in our blood. We live for this,” Adames said. “We love the game. This is what we have done since we were babies. Since you were in the belly of your mother, you feel baseball…Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, we have baseball. Venezuelans, we have baseball.
“That’s what we have. We don’t have basketball, American football, soccer; it’s just baseball. It’s in our blood.”
Adames plans to be in the lineup for the Brewers on Saturday. Ever the ironman, Adames even wanted to play immediately upon returning to camp.
“I didn’t play today because (manager Craig) Counsell wanted me to chill because it was a travel day yesterday,” Adames said Friday. “But I’m in tomorrow. wanted to but he wanted me to take it easy. I had a long day yesterday, a lot of travel.”
Even though Adames wasn’t in the lineup, the Brewers couldn’t completely keep him from playing.
“I might take some at-bats on the minors side today,” Adames said.
Adames wasn’t the only WBC participant back in the clubhouse, either. Infielder Abraham Toro (Team Canada) returned Friday and reliever Javy Guerra (Team Panama) was back on Wednesday.
Sal Frelick (Team Italy) flew back Friday and will likely recover from the jetlag over the weekend. Devin Williams (Team USA), Rowdy Tellez and Luis Urías (Team Mexico) were still alive in the tournament.
Brewers taking cautious approach with Garrett Mitchell's hamstring, but centerfielder isn't worried
The Brewers continue things slow with Garrett Mitchell’s hamstring after he tweaked it on March 9 against the Giants.
Rest assured, though, Mitchell said, that everything is fine.
“I wasn't really ever 'down' to the point I wasn't doing stuff," said Mitchell. "I've been running the last 3-4 days. But obviously with us being in Spring Training, it still being early enough, I don't need to rush back from something and let it trickle into the season. Everyone has been taking their time, making sure I touch upon everything."
Tuesday is the Brewers’ target date for Mitchell to return to game action, though he noted he might try to get back in the lineup even earlier.
Brewers 4, Rangers 3
Joey Wiemer and Skye Bolt homered to lead the Brewers to a 4-3 comeback win over the Rangers at Surprise Stadium.
Perhaps the biggest development for the Brewers was the defensive play of Owen Miller, who was making his fifth start in center field this spring. Miller made a couple of challenging plays ranging back to the wall on a windy afternoon.
Miller was nearly brand new to the position at the beginning of spring training, but has looked comfortable there during game action. With a thinned outfield depth chart and Garrett Mitchell still yet to return from a hamstring tweak, center field could be a path for Miller to make the roster.
"I thought he made some nice plays for sure," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "Definitely challenged today and I thought he handled some at least major-league average difficulty plays better. That's what we were hoping for, is to see him challenged like that and I thought he handled it routinely, which is what we like to see."
Gus Varland struck out the side looking in his inning of work as he continues to work toward a roster spot at a Rule 5 pick.
"Today was a great outing, so it's hard to do better than that," Counsell said.
Robert Gasser, arguably the organization's top pitching prospect, threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. In the dugout, catcher Victor Caratini praised Gasser's execution; his manager echoed similar sentiments after the game.
"We pushed him when we acquired him, for sure," Counsell said. "There's no question that there's development left still, but moving him to Triple-A at the end, we feel like he's ready for that and we wanted to push him along and keep having him faced advanced hitters. that means he's one step away from the big leagues."
Tyson Miller threw two scoreless innings to pick up the save.
Matt Bush allowed a two-run homer, his second allowed in just his second outing of spring.
More:4 things that matter over the final two weeks of Brewers spring training
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers' Willy Adames praises atmosphere of World Baseball Classic
