Sophomore Pitcher Tim Adams Selected for the April Athlete Spotlight

Tim Adams, a 23-year-old sophomore outfielder from SeaTac, Wash., has been crushing the ball thus far for the Green River College baseball team.

Ever since Adams picked up a baseball bat and glove for the first time, the sport an integral part of his lifestyle.

He got his start in tee-ball, but instead of it being forced upon him by his parents like most people, he had a different motivation to get out on the field and do work. Growing up he always looked up to his brother.

Since his brother played baseball, Adams followed in his footsteps because he always wanted to be like him. Since then, it has been the challenge of the game and the competition level that has kept him coming back for more.

He also credits his parents as motivation for him to keep playing and do the best he can on the diamond. “I for sure would say my parents are a big inspiration,” Adams said. “They have sacrificed many things over the years to allow me to play baseball, so that inspires me to play my best and do all I can.”

Currently, Adams’ plans for after college are unclear, but if he gets the opportunity to continue playing the sport he loves, he will likely pursue that.

Aside from playing baseball, Adams’ enjoys the outdoors. Some of his hobbies include hiking and bird watching during the warm months of the year.

Along with baseball, he also enjoys watching any professional sport he can get. As a UFC fan and MLB fan, his favorite athlete of all time is Jon “Bones” Jones, the former light heavyweight champion of the world, and his current favorite athlete is the former National League MVP and home-run king of 2017, Giancarlo Stanton. 

Since joining the Green River baseball team in his freshmen year, Adams has improved quite a bit. He credits his uptick in batting average and decreases in strikeouts to a change he has made to his swing.

According to his coach, Brian Embery, Adams is always willing to make changes to his game that he and others think may be beneficial in the future. Despite his improvements to his swing, Adams still recognizes that he has a ways to go before he reaches the level that he wants to be.

For him and the rest of the baseball team, clutch situational hitting has been a weak spot so far this season, so one of the things he hopes to improve at is hitting with base runners on second and third, who are typically on the verge of scoring. Along with his hitting, Adams also looks to become a better pitcher on the mound, although to him there is no better feeling than squaring up a baseball. 

As a sophomore on a team with plenty of freshmen, he has inherited much more of a leadership role. For him, the key to this is displaying the proper way to prepare yourself for the games.

“I just try to lead by example… I’m not really a vocal leader so I really just try to do the right things.” As much as he likes being on the Green River baseball team, his head coach, Brian Embery, likes having him just as much.

“Tim continues to strive to become a leader on this team,” coach Embery said. “Tim is becoming more vocal and has been a positive presence throughout this challenging season.”

All of the changes Adams has made on the field have also reflected onto the person he is off the field. After going through a mechanical change as drastic as a completely changed swing, Adams now understands the importance of hard work and dedication to, not just the sport, but to life in general.

“While being here I’ve learned that handling your business and not taking the path of least resistance will help me with, not just baseball, but with life,” Adams said. “Learning a good work ethic and good habits on the field carries over into the real life.”

For Adams, leaving everything on the field is the most important part of the game. That way, when it comes to his baseball career at Green River, he won’t have anything regret when he looks back on his time here.