An Interview With Eugene Emeralds OF Corey Adamson

Corey Adamson is one of the more interesting prospects in the entire Padres system. The Padres signed the Australian-born OF when he was just 17. The Padres gave Adamson a $500,000 bonus back in 2008, in hopes that he could put his impressive athleticism to good use. Adamson has also helped the Perth Heat, of the Australian baseball league, win two consecutive championships.

Adamson started the year with the Fort Wayne Tincaps, and got off to a slow start, hitting .111 in 81 at-bats, with a homer and five RBI’s. He is currently playing at Eugene, and is hitting .242, with one homer, and 11 RBI’s.  Adamson even had a three-hit game a few nights ago. Adamson is also among the league leaders with 9 stolen bases. Corey was nice enough to answer a few questions, in between his busy schedule.

Q: Australia is not really considered a hotbed for baseball, at least here in America. But just how popular is the game in Australia?

A: “Growing up in Australia, almost everyone plays Tee-ball at some point, but then cricket and Australian football take over, so baseball is not as popular as it should be. However, with the new professional league that has just started, it is beginning to grow, which is great to be involved with.”

Q: Your Father (Tony Adamson) is in the Australian Baseball Hall-of-Fame. What kind of impact has he had on your game?

A: “My Dad has had a huge impact on my game. If he did not play, I probably would have never started playing baseball. He was my coach when I was younger, and even now he knows my swing and mentality more than most people do, so I am always happy to talk with him, or go into the backyard and work on some stuff.”

Q: There are quite a few Australians in professional baseball, and you all seem like a tightly-knit bunch. Would that be an accurate assumption?

A: “There are quite a few of us now, and more coming each year, which is awesome. We are definitely a tightly-knit bunch because may of us have grown up playing against each other. We want to see each other succeed, plus a little friendly competition never hurt.”

Q: You are among the league leaders in stolen bases in the Northwest League. Do you try to make something happen with your speed, or do you try to pick your spots?

A: Becoming a better base-runner/base-stealer was a huge part of my offseason. I worked on speed and jumps playing with the Perth Heat in the ABL. Every time I get on base, I want to try to put pressure on the pitcher and catcher, but I believe it is very important to pick your spots.”

Q: You have played at both Low-A Fort Wayne, and short-season A-ball Eugene this year. Is there a big difference between the level of the competition? Also, is there a large difference culturally between the two areas?

A: The two levels are extremely similar, and I believe that the level of play is pretty much the same. I was just not feeling comfortable, and was not in the right state-of-mind when I was at Fort Wayne., which led to a below-average performance. Culturally, the two places are completely different. Fort Wayne is very “American,” kind of like places you would see in movies. Eugene is full of free spirits and different personalities then I have ever come across.”

Q: You have pitched in three games this year for the Emeralds. Was it something that the coaching staff approached you about? Or how did that come to be?

A: “I was just messing around in Spring Training, throwing knuckleballs, and a few coaches saw me and jokingly said that I would be an emergency pitcher. Believe it or not, we actually needed an emergency pitcher in some blowout games, so I came in, throwing my 66 MPH knuckleball. It was a good experience, and a cool story.”  Note: on the mound, Adamson has no record, with a 7.71 ERA in 2.1 innings.”

Q: The Emeralds have been playing well as of late (19-12 record), what has been the key to your success?

A: Yeah mate, we have been playing very good baseball lately. We have meshed together as a team, and that has helped a lot. I feel like we have all seen how we can play as a team. It has helped us play what Murph(Em’s manager Pat Murphy) calls winning baseball. We are looking forward to finishing strong, and having a great season.

A huge thanks to Corey. Go ahead and give him a follow on Twitter! @coreyadamson