Nice article on 2 great representatives of BC
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other/2016/06/pete_frates_helps_bc_shortstop_johnny_adams
Pete Frates helps BC shortstop Johnny Adams
Steve Conroy Wednesday, June 08, 2016
Johnny Adams is on fire.
The Boston College junior shortstop cut a swath through the NCAA regional in Oxford, Mississippi, last weekend, going 7-for-12 in the two wins over Tulane and one over Utah. And thanks in large part to his efforts, the Eagles will face Miami in the super regionals this weekend.
In Sunday’s 6-3 regional-clinching win over Tulane, the Walpole product went 4-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI and two runs scored. Adams, who has started all 54 BC games, now has his season average up to .297.
But, baseball being baseball, there was a time earlier in the season when Adams wasn’t so hot. He started 2016 on a dreadful 5-for-31 skid and, on April 10, was batting .196.
At one point, he got a Facebook message from a good friend and former BC ball player that lifted his spirits.
“He was just trying to raise my confidence a little bit when I was struggling early,” Adams said yesterday. “He said he was in kind of the same situation when he played here. He was off to a slow start and he just looked himself in the mirror and told himself that he’s the best player on the diamond and that kind of boosted his confidence and helped him though the rest of the season. That’s what he told me and it really helped.”
While the words were surely inspirational for Adams, it was more about who was communicating them. The encouragement came from Pete Frates, who has become world famous because of his battle with ALS and the Ice Bucket Challenge that he helped start through a social media campaign a couple of years ago. It has inspired millions of people to pitch in and fight the dreaded disease.
But earlier this spring, Frates just wanted to inspire Adams over a little hump in the baseball season.
“It meant the world to me, especially coming from a guy who’s going through what he’s going through,” said Adams. “It really puts life into perspective a little bit. It definitely took the pressure off a little bit for me. It helped me realize that I’m just playing a game here. That guy is fighting for his life. So to hear those words from him, it meant a lot to me. It was special.”
Adams has both BC and success in his blood. His father, Jay, was a four-year baseball player and captain of the 1987 team. And before becoming one of the cornerstones of the BC’s current baseball renaissance, Johnny won two Bay State League championships at Walpole High. He was even a member of the 2007 team that the town sent to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
So Adams kept pecking away. A 3-for-5 day at Harvard got him over the Mendoza line for good on April 12, and, from April 24-May 21, he went on a career-long 14-game hit streak. He’s currently third on the Eagles in hitting.
Most everyone at the Heights expected the breakthrough to happen for Adams. Before the season, Adams was given the revered No. 8, given to the Eagle who best “battles through adversity and represents the best qualities of BC baseball.” It’s given in honor of Peter “Sonny” Nictakis, a two-time captain of the Eagles who lost his long battle with Hodgkin’s disease in 2000.
When Mike Gambino, a teammate of Nictakis’, returned to the Heights to be the Eagles’ head coach in 2011 after a stint at Virginia Tech, he instituted the wearing of the number to be the highest honor for a BC baseball player. The original No. 8 worn by Nictakis is buried under home plate at Shea Field.
The honor is voted on by the staff and the players, and Gambino knows they got it right with Adams.
“That’s saying a lot, because this is a clubhouse with a lot of big-time character guys,” said Gambino. “If that group of guys chose Johnny to wear No. 8, then it shows what kind of person that he is.”
Adams showed what he was made of in the soupy Mississippi humidity last weekend. Next up are the Hurricanes for a best-of-three series starting Friday, with a bid to the College World Series at stake.
Adams is ready. And, with a little help from his friend, he’s red hot.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other/2016/06/pete_frates_helps_bc_shortstop_johnny_adams
Pete Frates helps BC shortstop Johnny Adams
Steve Conroy Wednesday, June 08, 2016
Johnny Adams is on fire.
The Boston College junior shortstop cut a swath through the NCAA regional in Oxford, Mississippi, last weekend, going 7-for-12 in the two wins over Tulane and one over Utah. And thanks in large part to his efforts, the Eagles will face Miami in the super regionals this weekend.
In Sunday’s 6-3 regional-clinching win over Tulane, the Walpole product went 4-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI and two runs scored. Adams, who has started all 54 BC games, now has his season average up to .297.
But, baseball being baseball, there was a time earlier in the season when Adams wasn’t so hot. He started 2016 on a dreadful 5-for-31 skid and, on April 10, was batting .196.
At one point, he got a Facebook message from a good friend and former BC ball player that lifted his spirits.
“He was just trying to raise my confidence a little bit when I was struggling early,” Adams said yesterday. “He said he was in kind of the same situation when he played here. He was off to a slow start and he just looked himself in the mirror and told himself that he’s the best player on the diamond and that kind of boosted his confidence and helped him though the rest of the season. That’s what he told me and it really helped.”
While the words were surely inspirational for Adams, it was more about who was communicating them. The encouragement came from Pete Frates, who has become world famous because of his battle with ALS and the Ice Bucket Challenge that he helped start through a social media campaign a couple of years ago. It has inspired millions of people to pitch in and fight the dreaded disease.
But earlier this spring, Frates just wanted to inspire Adams over a little hump in the baseball season.
“It meant the world to me, especially coming from a guy who’s going through what he’s going through,” said Adams. “It really puts life into perspective a little bit. It definitely took the pressure off a little bit for me. It helped me realize that I’m just playing a game here. That guy is fighting for his life. So to hear those words from him, it meant a lot to me. It was special.”
Adams has both BC and success in his blood. His father, Jay, was a four-year baseball player and captain of the 1987 team. And before becoming one of the cornerstones of the BC’s current baseball renaissance, Johnny won two Bay State League championships at Walpole High. He was even a member of the 2007 team that the town sent to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
So Adams kept pecking away. A 3-for-5 day at Harvard got him over the Mendoza line for good on April 12, and, from April 24-May 21, he went on a career-long 14-game hit streak. He’s currently third on the Eagles in hitting.
Most everyone at the Heights expected the breakthrough to happen for Adams. Before the season, Adams was given the revered No. 8, given to the Eagle who best “battles through adversity and represents the best qualities of BC baseball.” It’s given in honor of Peter “Sonny” Nictakis, a two-time captain of the Eagles who lost his long battle with Hodgkin’s disease in 2000.
When Mike Gambino, a teammate of Nictakis’, returned to the Heights to be the Eagles’ head coach in 2011 after a stint at Virginia Tech, he instituted the wearing of the number to be the highest honor for a BC baseball player. The original No. 8 worn by Nictakis is buried under home plate at Shea Field.
The honor is voted on by the staff and the players, and Gambino knows they got it right with Adams.
“That’s saying a lot, because this is a clubhouse with a lot of big-time character guys,” said Gambino. “If that group of guys chose Johnny to wear No. 8, then it shows what kind of person that he is.”
Adams showed what he was made of in the soupy Mississippi humidity last weekend. Next up are the Hurricanes for a best-of-three series starting Friday, with a bid to the College World Series at stake.
Adams is ready. And, with a little help from his friend, he’s red hot.
