We interrupt Ad ‘Rutschman Reunion’ 2022 for latest news about Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles
Saturday
afternoon, June 11, 2022, was the annual “Rutschman Reunion” on the Linfield
campus. Coach Ad Rutschman, 90, was celebrated by his former football and
baseball players and friends.
During
the Coach’s talk there was an interruption. One of those in the audience,
sitting with others at tables in the meeting room after eating lunch, had news
for Coach about his grandson, Adley Rutschman, starting catcher for Major
League’s Baltimore Orioles.
The
news was about Adley’s batting in Baltimore’s game in Missouri vs. the Kansas
City Royals.
The
story below details the news. What a feat by Adley Rutschman. What a joy for Ad
Rutschman.
Go,
Adley!
Go,
Orioles!
Adley Rutschman signaling breakout after career day with three
hits
By Zachary Silver, MLB, Saturday, June 11, 2022
KANSAS
CITY -- Slowly but surely, it seemed that Adley Rutschman was starting to
awaken from his early-career slumber. Balls were being sprayed across the field
with vociferous velocity, just often into defenders' gloves. There had been
some time of toiling and self-reflection, but confidence nonetheless, that a
breakout was coming.
And
then Saturday afternoon came and went, and Rutschman left little to doubt.
The
Orioles' rookie phenom compiled a list of feats in Saturday’s 6-4
come-from-behind win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, giving the club and
fan base alike a number of signs that he may be turning things around after
many similar balls have fallen for naught:
• The
first three-hit game of his career
• The
first multi-extra-base hit game of his career
•
Four hard-hit balls (95-plus mph exit velocity)
•
Three of the six hardest-hit balls in K.C. on Saturday
• A
110 mph single that stands as the hardest-hit ball of his career
The
Adley Rutschman slumber may be over. He paces the Orioles' offense with a
three-hit day -- the first of his career -- for the first victory here in KC.
Tyler Nevin had the big swing. Tyler Wells had the big innings.
“Baseball
is one of those games that you're going to hit balls right at people and then
you're going to have balls that are hit hard that fall for hits,” Rutschman
said. “You just got to continue to roll with the punches.”
It
was the first scoresheet-stuffing performance of Rutschman’s career, as he
paced the Orioles’ offense and crossed the plate twice -- one on a heads-up
play in the eighth inning -- though he still is searching for his first RBI and
homer. When those come, they will simply solidify the optimism that a breakout
is beginning for the No. 1 overall prospect in the Majors.
“It
was just a matter of time,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “And I'm sure
it's a big relief for him to have a good game like he had today.”
“He's
had a slow start, but no doubt in my mind he's going to get back to what we all
know he can do,” added third baseman Tyler Nevin, whose three-run homer in the
sixth was the game-deciding swing. “Tonight is basically what I've seen every
single time I play with him.”
That
kind of confidence is exactly what has lifted Rutschman through this
early-career bind. Internally, though belief never wavered, there was the
requirement of self-reflection. Struggle has seemingly escaped Rutschman across
his baseball career, a quality of consistent excellence and production that
made him the no-doubt first overall pick exactly three years and a week ago
from Friday.
But
three weeks in, and he has been required to look inward -- about his plate
approach, his routine, the Majors and himself.
“Just
kind of, 'What am I doing?’” Rutschman would ask himself. “‘What adjustments do
I need to make at the plate? Am I getting sped up on my timing? Is it just kind
of being in the big leagues that's speeding me up, or is it something in my
swing?’
“Those
are tough questions to answer,” he added. “You just continue to try and learn
as you go.”
So
call Saturday learning on the job, then. In several ways, such a performance
perhaps shouldn’t have been a surprise. By pure pedigree standards, at worst,
the club believes the talent is there for Rutschman to be an everyday contributor.
At best, he could be a face-of-the-franchise and cornerstone piece that
shepherds Orioles pitching and leads the club offensively into its next phase
of competitiveness.
But
one further, there’s underlying evidence that Rutschman should have started to
find results prior. Entering Saturday, he was hitting just .153 with a .220
slugging percentage, numbers that modestly improve under the lens of their
expected values (xBA) at .222 and .323, respectively.
A
double in Friday’s loss was a table-setter for the next day’s output. And a
106.2 mph lineout was a tease at three more times on base. Rutschman is now
hitting .190 with a .286 slugging percentage.
“He
hit four balls right on the screws. Just really impressed the way he swung the
bat from both sides of the plate, line drives all over the park,” Hyde said.
“Awesome day for him at the plate.”
Hyde’s
trust has never ceased, preaching confidence that Rutschman’s true arrival is
just a matter of time, especially given the delayed start he was off to with
his right triceps strain in Spring Training. Rutschman says each day brings
more comfort and “gets a little better as you go.” Teammates -- the few that
have seen him struggle -- know his work ethic will make this early-career lag a
laughable speed bump by playing days’ end.
And
then in the visitors’ clubhouse after Saturday’s win, Nevin -- a teammate of
Rutschman's for much of the past two seasons -- answered the question surrounding
his slow start unasked by both the Orioles beat reporting corps, but felt in
bits around the fan base.
“So,"
Nevin laughed, “don't worry.”
https://www.mlb.com/news/adley-rutschman-has-career-high-three-hits-for-orioles
