Adolis García: 'He's Just Different' Says Rangers Manager
ARLINGTON — Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward sat there Saturday night with a smile on face, that smile he gets every time he knows someone is going to ask him about Adolis García.
It was minutes after García hit the walk-off home run against the Washington Nationals. García had just been with the media, wearing that blue-and-red Stetson the team awards to the game’s MVP when the Rangers win.
Woodward knew what was coming. The question centered on García’s "clutch" gene.
“This guy is different — that’s the best way I can describe it,” Woodward said. “Some guys have the knack for coming up big, but it’s just over and over again.”
García’s home run set off a wild celebration at home plate. It was just the Rangers’ second walk-off win of the season. But it was easy to forget that a half-inning earlier García protected a tie game with a diving catch on Cesar Hernandez's one-out line drive. Had it gotten past him, Hernandez likely would have gotten extra bases and the Nationals might have gotten the lead.
In that situation, García’s home run might have been a game-tying hit, and not a game-winning hit.
Not that it would have made it any less clutch, given García’s recent history.
According to STATS LLC, he is hitting .426/.453/.723/1.176 (20-47) with a MLB-best nine extra-base hits (six doubles, three walks and two home runs) in close and late situations. STATS defines that as plate appearances in the seventh inning or later with the team ahead by a run, tied or with the tying run on base, at bat or on deck. He also leads the Majors with 20 hits in 2022 in those situations.
Since the start of 2021, he leads the Majors with 11 home runs in close and late situations. The Dodgers’ Will Smith (10) is the only other batter in double digits. García’s 32 RBI in close and late situations since the start of last season is the second-most to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (35).
In other words, he’s pretty clutch.
“As long as I don’t try to do a lot, just simplify things as much as I can, that’s what has helped me be successful,” García said through an interpreter.
Certainly, García's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday against Washington got all of the attention, as it should. It was the second walk-off of his career and his first of the season. But he has 13 game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the sixth inning or later since the start of 2021. That’s the second-most in the Majors in that span.
“It’s not like it’s lucky,” Woodward said. “He just constantly gives you a good at-bat and puts it on his back in big moments. He comes through. So you almost expect it.”
His 15 home runs are tied for team lead with Corey Seager, and tied for 11th most in the American League. He’s on an eight-game hitting streak, along with at least one hit in 15 of his last 16 games. During that span García pushed his season batting average from .220 to .256. Go back further and you’ll find that García was hitting .195 less than 40 games ago.
García started his 69th game on Sunday, but he’s split time between center field (41) and right field (25). He’s also been the designated hitter three times. The Rangers have every intention of keeping him in right field, now that Leody Taveras is with the club and they acquired another center fielder, Steven Duggar, on Thursday. Woodward said moving García to right was always the intent once Taveras returned to the club.
The Rangers made that move for two reasons. Taveras has the speed to cover more ground in Globe Life Park’s expansive center field. Second, the Rangers want to protect García — not because he’s not a good fielder, but because he’s quite the opposite.
Woodward calls García “the best right fielder in baseball.” By putting Garcia there, the Rangers bolster their defense and put García in a position where there is less ground to cover.
García leads the Rangers with seven outfield assists. One of them was on Friday night when García cut down Nelson Cruz at the plate. His throw was dead solid perfect. So was the one he threw to cut down Cruz at second base in the second inning on Sunday. Of course, Cruz ended up with a two-run single. But it was another outfield assist.
“Defense is something I take a lot of pride in,” García said. “I always go out there and try to do my best even when I’m not hitting well. I try to take my defense to another level. That helps me thrive when I go to the plate and gives me a little energy.”
Woodward is resisting comparisons right now, but Josh Hamilton’s name keeps coming up. The Rangers acquired Hamilton in a minor trade and he emerged as the Rangers’ go-to slugger in clutch situations for five years.
García came to the Rangers in a trade with St. Louis and Texas gave up cash considerations in the deal.
It’s rare for the Rangers to get so much in return for so little.
“He is like my perfect player,” Woodward said. “I can’t imagine doing what he’s doing. And the way he does it, he enjoys it, he has true joy when he’s out there. There’s no one that plays harder than him. There may be players that play as hard as him, but not harder. I tell him that all the time, ‘You make our entire organization better.’”
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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