A dad again, Andrus will have extra mentoring to do with Rangers’ kids in 2019
The player who is expected to step into the primary leadership role for the Texas Rangers now has another member of his own team.
Elvis Andrus posted to the world Tuesday on social media that his wife, Cori, delivered a healthy baby girl named Lucia Alessandra. A photo shared on Instagram captured Andrus’ “beautiful princess” about as soon after delivery as cameras would properly allow.
Lucia doesn’t appear to be thrilled to be posing for a photo so quickly into her life.
But as her older brother can attest, she has a pretty cool dad who has grown up before so many Rangers fans’ eyes. Andrus debuted in 2009 as a 20-year-old, and the now-30-year-old shortstop has the tall task of stepping into Adrian Beltre’s leadership shoes.
Beltre, who retired last week, rated as the most respected Rangers player the past several seasons and was the boss of the clubhouse. Shin-Soo Choo, veteran newcomer Jeff Mathis, veteran right-hander Edinson Volquez and veteran Jesse Chavez, who agreed Tuesday to return to the Rangers, will help Andrus carry the leadership load.
But he is the longest-tenured player in the organization, having been acquired in 2007 in the Mark Teixeira trade, and 2019 will mark Andrus’ 11th season in the majors.
He’s ready for the added responsibilities, which have already been discussed with new manager Chris Woodward.
“I’ve been thinking about it for sure,” Andrus said last week in a conference call after Beltre announced his retirement after 21 seasons, the final eight with the Rangers.
“I think one of the biggest things for me was last year when we were [without[ him for almost two months, actually he wasn’t in the clubhouse for almost a month, and that was for me the biggest challenge in my career of being the leader or helping everybody, all of the young guys on the team.
“I remember calling Adrian after games, like, ‘Dude, this is hard. Now I understand what Michael and you were going through every single day and it’s not easy to pretty much be taking care of the clubhouse, maintain everything, running the right way and performing well at the high level that you guys have been doing it.’”
Michael in the above quote, of course, is Rangers Hall of Famer Michael Young, who helped nurture Andrus over his first four seasons in the majors. Beltre joined in 2011, and Andrus concedes that he has learned to lead from some of the highest regarded teammates in the game the past decade.
Beltre himself anointed Andrus as the Rangers’ next leader.
“Something he always kept telling the me for the past two or three years, like, ‘Let’s go. You’ve got to do it. When I’m done, you’re going to be the guy,’” Andrus said.
However, Andrus is wise enough to know that there is only one Beltre and one Young. There sure as heck is only one Andrus, and he doesn’t plan to deviate from who he’s been the past 10 seasons.
He keeps things loose with jokes and playful arguments with teammates, and he loves loud music. But Andrus is also one of the most durable players in the majors (a broken arm in 2018 put him on the disabled list for the first time in his career) and his work ethic has helped him improve significantly offensively.
And, after changing a bunch of diapers this off-season, he will become the Rangers’ primary clubhouse leader.
“I know I can do it,” he said. “I think that I have the best two guys, best two teachers anybody could have in Michael and Adrian, and I’m ready for the challenge. I think it’s not only me. There’s a lot of teammates that are going to help me maintain the clubhouse.
“But losing Adrian is going to be as difficult as it was losing Michael. But we’ve got to find a way, we’ve got to find a way to keep going. There’s a lot of young guys that are ready to take the next step, too, and we’re all excited about it.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2018 at 7:43 AM.
