David Adams, Brett Wallace – Baltimore Orioles Pick-ups
May 22, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; New York Yankees third baseman David Adams (39) hits a solo home run in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles defeated the Yankees 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
Is Dan Duquette the Imelda Marcos of the Baltimore Orioles? The who? Some of you reading this are likely too young to remember the wife of The Philippines’ ousted Dictator Ferdinand Marcos. She garnered worldwide fame for her excessive lifestyle when it was revealed that she left behind over 1200 pairs of shoes. So does DD collect and horde ballplayers in this fashion?
Or maybe a better illustration is a do-it-yourselfer dude and Home Depot. At some point when I got a credit card there, I became an email client where I get a daily ‘deal of the day’ notification. I suppose some men cannot resist running into the orange box store and making the most of the sale, whether they need that tool or not! Is that the way Duquette is with the waiver wire?
Over the weekend the Orioles have signed two infielders to minor league deals: former Yankees second baseman David Adams – who was claimed off waivers from the Indians, and Brett Wallace – a corner infielder who played portions of four seasons with the Astros.
Probably most Orioles fans wonder “why?” Why get these guys with very marginal statistics who are so unlikely to really make an impact, and who sometimes clog up the system? Actually, these are not players who clog the system, as the Orioles do need to fill out the position player roles with sufficient level-appropriate talent throughout the organization.
And yes, most of these acquisitions are long-shot types, and each of these most recent additions are in their age 27 year. But a common theme for both Adams and Wallace – and almost always with these deals – is that they were high draft choices. There was something about them in terms of their past performances and athleticism that had them valued so highly, and perhaps something will at long last click and they will put the pieces together such that the Orioles really have something.
Some years ago I had befriended a young man who was a minor league player for the Hagerstown Suns when they were a Toronto affiliate. He was a late-round draft pick but was hitting very well – well into the .300s, whereas another top-round draftee hitting 100 points less was advanced up the system instead. Noting this situation, I remember the guy telling me, “Top draft picks will be given innumerable opportunities to prove that can’t do it, whereas a late-round guy like me will only have a short window of time to prove that we can.”
So that is some of what we are seeing here with these, and other choices. But let’s look at and comment on the stats …
David Adams career stats – all from 2013 Yankees …
Year |
Age
Tm
G
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
2013
26
NYY
43
152
140
10
27
5
1
2
13
0
0
9
43
.193
.252
.286
.537
Maybe a reason for Duquette to get Adams into the Orioles organization is because he was a short-term Birds killer. Notice that his two career home runs are against Baltimore – the one team he hit well against. And notice that the picture above is of one of his homers at Oriole Park.
David Adams stats against the Orioles …
Split |
G
GS
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
Baltimore Orioles
8
7
28
23
3
7
0
0
2
2
5
5
.304
.429
.565
.994
David Adams career minor league stats …
Year |
Age
Tm
Lg
G
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
2008
21
NYY-minA-
67
297
257
45
66
19
2
4
31
8
2
32
57
.257
.350
.393
.743
2009
22
NYY-minA,A+
132
569
490
69
140
40
8
7
75
11
8
61
88
.286
.373
.443
.816
2010
23
NYY-minAA
39
173
152
31
47
15
3
3
32
5
2
18
31
.309
.393
.507
.900
2011
24
NYY-minRk,A+
29
121
108
19
40
12
0
1
15
2
3
9
18
.370
.421
.509
.931
2012
25
NYY-minAA
86
383
327
44
100
23
0
8
48
3
1
38
53
.306
.385
.450
.834
2013
26
NYY-minAAA
59
255
220
28
59
11
2
5
21
0
0
29
43
.268
.366
.405
.771
Brett Wallace was only 2-for-14 with the Astros this spring. He was a first-round, #13 overall pick in 2008 and has a career .242 average. Here are his career numbers.
Year |
Age
Tm
Lg
G
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
2010
23
HOUNL
51
159
144
14
32
6
1
2
13
0
0
8
50
.222
.296
.319
.615
2011
24
HOUNL
115
379
336
37
87
22
0
5
29
1
1
36
91
.259
.334
.369
.703
2012
25
HOUNL
66
254
229
24
58
10
1
9
24
0
0
18
73
.253
.323
.424
.746
2013
26
HOUAL
79
285
262
35
58
14
1
13
36
1
1
18
104
.221
.284
.431
.716
4 Yrs
311
1077
971
110
235
52
3
29
102
2
2
80
318
.242
.313
.391
.704
For more thoughts and perspectives on these players, see our Baltimore Wire writer Nate Wardle’s excellent piece HERE.