“Love watching @AdamSpankyEaton,” one person wrote on Twitter. “There’s a guy who loves baseball and going to work every day. Wish the passion was contagious.”
Eaton had the opposite effect, naturally, on opposing fans. Royals fans, especially, learned to fear Eaton. He hit .368 against Kansas City.
“I hate Adam Eaton,” a fan wrote. “Kills my Royals.”
Eaton’s not going anywhere anytime soon — except maybe to the All-Star Game in 2015 in Cincinnati, 90 minutes south of his former stomping grounds at Tom Randall Field. That would be a fitting prize for a 19th-round pick who broke out in a big way in 2014.
In his second full season in the big leagues and his first in the American League, Eaton hit .300 in 123 games with 146 hits in 486 at-bats. No one in baseball landed right on that magic mark. Only 16 players in the game hit better than .300.
Eaton also tied for the AL lead with 10 triples and ranked 12th in the AL with a .362 on-base percentage.
As a team, the White Sox disappointed, finishing fourth in the Central Division with a 73-89 record. Eaton was a bright spot, however, and his presence in center field and at the top of the batting order gives the franchise hope for the future.
On Tuesday, two days after the season ended, after he had returned to his offseason home in Arizona, Eaton talked on the phone about his memorable 2014 season.
Q: Tell us about the last game of the season. How were you able to go 3-for-3 against the Royals to hit .300 for the season?
A: It was very surreal. Before the game, my father-in-law told me, ‘Hey, you need three hits today.’ I laughed because (Yordano) Ventura was throwing. He throws hard. Even in a high school game, to go 3-for-3 is difficult. It really is. Going into the game, my hope was to be able to compete, get a couple hits and finish the year strong.
My first hit was through the 5-6 hole. My next hit, I was down 1-2, and he happened to hang a slider, and I put a good swing on it. My last at-bat, the third baseman was playing back and I just dropped a bunt down. Not too many people can say they hit .300 in the big leagues. I’m very proud of that.
Q: You were hitting .270 at the All-Star break. How realistic was hitting .300 at that point? How did you navigate the ups and downs of the season?
A: Traditionally, I start off rather slow — everywhere I’ve been, whether it’s been Double-A or Triple-A. At the beginning of the season, I knew if I started off slow, I would get my timing and stick with it. I started to hit better, got my average up to .270 and .280 when it was .240. I had a hamstring injury right then. I took some time off, came back from the disabled list and picked up where I left off.
Right after the All-Star break is when things started to go well. Things started to click. I got comfortable. Most people don’t realize, you have to get comfortable with your job. You have to get comfortable with the people you work with. You have to get comfortable with the front office, the pitching staff. Your defense can turn into offense and vice versa. There’s a lot of variables that go into it.
Q: Was it difficult maintaining your focus as the team struggled?
A: You find out a lot about yourself when you are losing. It’s not fun to lose. You still have to go out there and compete and do your job to the best of your ability. As a team, you go through little slumps. Hitting is contagious. Losing is contagious. Winning is contagious. Slumping is contagious. As a young team, we really learned a lot about how to work through the grind. We may lose four in a row, but we can win five in a row and get back on the horse.
Q: There were many photos taken this season of you jumping high in the air to high-five 6-foot-3 teammate Alexei Ramirez. How did that tradition start?
A: I hit one home run this year (on April 12). I’m embarrassed. I wish I had hit more. I hit it off (Beavercreek High School graduate) Justin Masterson (then with the Indians). Alexei was the first one to give me a high five. He was on his tiptoes. So he made me jump for it. So everyone followed suit. After we won that game, Alexei stood on second base with his arm up, and I jumped for his hand. No one else did it. It kind of caught on.”
Q: Did you enjoy playing in Chicago?
A: It was unbelievable: the Midwest feel of Chicago and the great people of Chicago. Blue-collar fans. I couldn’t ask for a better fan base to surround me. I’m very hard-working. I get after it every day. Just the support at the stadium. They had a t-shirt night for me. I was very honored by that. Just the support on Twitter. They really appreciate guys who work hard and get after it.
Q: Chicago is a lot closer to Ohio than Phoenix. Did your family get to see you play more?
A: Dad didn’t miss too many games this year. He parked a Fifth Wheel trailer right outside of Chicago. He always used to do that when I was in high school. We’d go to Tennessee, and he’d drag his Fifth Wheel down, and we’d stay in the Fifth Wheel to save money on a hotel. He still has the Fifth Wheel, and he drove it up to Chicago and left it there and drove his little Honda back and forth for homestands. He’d be in Chicago for 10 days then leave for a week and come back for a week. Being a retiree, I bet he saw 70 or 75 out of 81 home games.
Q: What are your offseason plans? How much time do you take off before you start training again?
A: I’m going to take a little more time off this year to relax and make sure my body is ready to go forward. Being in Arizona, we just bought a home. I may take up golf just a touch. I haven’t touched it. It’s very frustrating. But I may pick it up now. My wife’s interested in it. For the most part, I’ll probably relax the first month and after that probably get after it. I don’t take as much time off as everybody else, even though it’s going to be more than usual. Usually, it’s a week or two and then I start lifting, which is kind of crazy.
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