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Elvis Andrus

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Elvis Andrus
Andrus with the Texas Rangers in 2016
Texas Rangers – No. 1
Shortstop
Born: (1988-08-26) August 26, 1988 (age 36)
Maracay, Venezuela
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 6, 2009, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through August 9, 2020)
Batting average.274
Hits1,733
Home runs73
Runs batted in632
Stolen bases305
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Elvis Augusto Andrus Torres (born August 26, 1988) is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball shortstop for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Entering 2007, he was rated by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization. In 2009, Andrus earned the Texas Rangers starting shortstop job at the age of 20. He is a two-time All Star.

Early life

Andrus was born in Maracay, Venezuela, the son of Emilio and Elvia Andrus. Emilio Andrus was a university professor; he died when Elvis was seven years old.[1] He has two older brothers, Erold and Erikson.[2][3] Some Venezuelan families name their children after famous non-Venezuelan people, but Andrus said that he is not sure whether he was named after Elvis Presley. Andrus said, "I asked my mother a lot of times, but she never told me. Maybe my dad liked Elvis Presley. I’m not sure about that."[1]

Career

Minor leagues

At the age of 16, Andrus was signed by the Atlanta Braves and received a signing bonus of more than $500,000.[4] He started the 2005 season with the Orlando Braves of the Gulf Coast League, and was promoted to Danville late in the season. He spent 2006 with Class-A Rome, being named to the South Atlantic League All-Star team.

In 2007, Andrus joined the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League. During the season, he was selected to the All-Star Futures Game and was selected again for the showcase in 2008.[5][6]

On July 31, 2007, Andrus, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and three minor league pitchers (Matt Harrison, Neftalí Feliz and Beau Jones) were traded from the Braves to the Rangers for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay.[7]

Texas Rangers (2009–present)

Andrus in 2010

With Rangers shortstop Michael Young agreeing to move to third base in 2009, Andrus earned the starting job on Opening Day. He was the second-youngest player in the American League at the time.[8] As Andrus was only 20 years old, Texas signed veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel for insurance.[citation needed]

Andrus stole his 20th base on July 28, 2009, in his rookie season. Andrus was the 10th player in major league history to steal 20 bases under the age of 21. The last player to do that was then-teammate Andruw Jones in 1997 with the Atlanta Braves. Andrus was named to the 2010 American League All-Star team as a reserve shortstop.

In 2010, he batted .265, without any home runs.[8] He led the AL in sacrifice hits (17), was 2nd in caught stealing (15), and 9th in stolen bases (32).[8]

In 2011, Andrus batted .279, with 5 home runs.[8] He was 3rd in the American League in sacrifice hits (16), 4th in caught stealing (12), and 5th in stolen bases (37).[8] On defense, he led all AL shortstops in errors, with 25, and was 2nd among league shortstops in putouts (245) and 3rd in assists (407).[8] In 2012, Andrus earned his second All-Star selection, batting .286 while leading the American League in sacrifice hits with 17.[citation needed]

Before Opening Day of 2013, Andrus signed an eight-year, $120 million extension.[9] On September 14, he stole his 40th stolen base of the season against the Oakland Athletics, stealing second base off of Bartolo Colón. Andrus later surpassed Ian Kinsler for the Texas Rangers all-time leader in stolen bases with 175. He finished the year again leading the American League in sacrifice hits (16) while batting .271 and scoring 91 runs.[citation needed]

Andrus in August 2014

Andrus began the 2014 season with an 11-game hitting streak that ultimately ended with an early ejection April 13. On June 8, Andrus had a 39-game hitting streak against the Cleveland Indians snapped as he went 0 for 4. That game marked the first time in his career where he did not get a hit against the Indians. Only Vladimir Guerrero had a longer streak against a team with (44, against Texas). Andrus stole his 180th career stolen base against the Seattle Mariners but led the American League in caught stealing with 15, batting .263 for the season.[citation needed]

Andrus finished 2015 with career lows in batting average (.258), OBP (.309), and sacrifice hits, while posting a career-best seven home runs and stealing 25 bags for the AL West champion Rangers. On defense, he led the major leagues in assists, with 516.[10] He batted .182 in the Rangers' ALDS series against Toronto and made two of the team's three errors in the pivotal seventh inning of Game 5, won by the Blue Jays.[11] In 2016, hit .302 with eight home runs and 69 RBIs.

He continued the following season, in 2017, to post a career offensive season, hitting .297 with 20 home runs and 88 RBIs and 25 steals in 158 games. On defense, he led the major leagues in assists, with 490.[12]

On April 11, 2018, Andrus was hit by a pitch on his right arm and left the game. X-rays and CT scans tested positive that Andrus had suffered a fractured right elbow. As a result, he was placed on the disabled list for the first time of his Major League career. No surgery was required, but to keep out of baseball activity for 6-8 weeks.[13] He was activated on June 18 from the disabled list.[14] Andrus finished 2018 hitting .256/.308/.367/.675 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI.

Andrus hit .275/.313/.393/.707 with 12 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases in 2019. He tied for the AL lead with 10 sacrifice flies.[15]

Personal

Andrus is a Christian.[16] In 2012, Andrus donated $12,500 to OurCalling, a Christian charity that helps homeless people in Dallas County.[17]

Andrus married girlfriend Cori Febles in a ceremony at his home on June 1, 2017.[18] The couple welcomed their first child, Elvis Emilio, on July 6, 2017.[19] On November 28, 2018 they welcomed their second child, a girl, named Lucia Alessandra. For the 2019 season, Andrus adopted "Baby Shark" as his walk-up song because it reminded him of his children. [20]

Two of Andrus' brothers remain in Venezuela. Andrus voiced concern about his home country during civil unrest in early 2014. "As a human being, you always get angry when you see what's happening with the military back home doing stuff to the civils, and to the students, and that's what really gets me angry. I'm not a political guy, but I just hate when you see somebody just walking and trying to say something get hit by police, or get hit by any military from the country that's supposed to defend the country instead of shoot him or hit him", he said.[21]

Andrus' older brother Erold Andrus played in the independent leagues in 2009 and 2010 as an outfielder.[22] He has played in the organizations of several MLB teams. During spring training of 2011, though Erold was in minor league camp, he got the opportunity to play in a Rangers spring training game, the first time that Erold and Elvis played together in the United States.[23]

On July 26, 2019, Andrus became a naturalized US citizen.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Borzi, Pat (October 21, 2010). "Elvis Andrus leads Rangers' revolution of savvy over slugging". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  2. ^ Passan, Jeff (February 23, 2009). "Vizquel to mentor Andrus for Rangers". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  3. ^ Borzi, Pat (October 21, 2010). "Elvis Andrus Leads Rangers' Revolution of Savvy Over Slugging". New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  4. ^ Fine, Larry (October 22, 2011). "Elvis making name for himself at World Series". Reuters. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  5. ^ Shawn Shroyer (June 23, 2008). "Andrus excelling in minor leagues". Texas.rangers.mlb.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  6. ^ "Statistics, including awards/honors". minorleaguebaseball.com. August 26, 1988. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  7. ^ Bowman, Mark (July 31, 2007). "Braves finalize deal for slugger Teixeira". MLB.com. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Elvis Andrus Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  9. ^ "Source: Rangers lock in Elvis Andrus." ESPN.com. Retrieved 2013-Apr-1.
  10. ^ Major League Leaderboards » 2015 » All Positions » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  11. ^ "Elvis Andrus has two key errors in ALDS Game 5". Major League Baseball.
  12. ^ Major League Leaderboards » 2017 » All Positions » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  13. ^ "Elvis Andrus goes on DL, out for 6-8 weeks". MLB. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  14. ^ Texas Rangers activate Elvis Andrus, option Jose Trevino to Double-A Frisco
  15. ^ "2019 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  16. ^ "Andrus".
  17. ^ "Texas Ranger Elvis Andrus Makes Donation To Help The Homeless".
  18. ^ "Elvis Andrus adds marriage, pending fatherhood to standout season". Star-Telegram. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  19. ^ "Arlington's Elvis population has grown by one, Texas Rangers are pleased to announce". Star-Telegram. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  20. ^ "Texas Rangers' Elvis Andrus Is Using 'Baby Shark' As His Walk-Up Song". HuffPost. March 29, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "Spring training may be kicking off, but MLB's Venezuelan players focused on home". Fox News Latino. February 22, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  22. ^ "Erold Andrus Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  23. ^ Sullivan, T. R. (March 15, 2011). "Andrus brothers enjoy special day". MLB.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  24. ^ "Texas Rangers star Elvis Andrus now a United States citizen". FOX 4 News KDFW. July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
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