The Rundown with Rene Knott
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The Rundown with Rene Knott
Matt Adams
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In this episode of The Rundown, Rene Knott sits down with former Cardinals slugger Matt Adams.
Nicknamed “Big City,” Adams made his mark in St. Louis with clutch hits and towering home runs after being drafted in 2009. He opens up about the mental side of the game, the intensity of the 2013 season, and what it really takes to succeed at the highest level.
From perseverance to confidence to simply enjoying the game—this is a conversation every athlete needs to hear.
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It's interesting that you brought up having a mental coach. Because we coach everything else when it comes to sports. Really almost everything else when it comes to life. But we don't hardly ever look for somebody to get our minds right. How much did having a mental coach straighten you out?
SPEAKER_00Oh it's huge. I w I wish I would have, you know, started with one earlier in my career. I d I didn't start using one. Actually, my wife, who was my trainer that helped me lose all the weight, she was kind of the one that kind of introduced me to the mindset and the mental game inside the you know the game of baseball. And then it was whenever I was with the Nationals that I really started working with somebody every day. So I wish that I would have, you know, started earlier in my career, but it was a game changer.
SPEAKER_01Joining us is the one, the only Mad Adams, aka Big Country. Good to see you, man. Yeah, thanks for watching. How are you feeling? You're not as big of a big country as you used to be, from what I remember.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, uh, I think I'm slimmed down the big city now. Are you able to fit through doors and all that these days? Yep.
SPEAKER_01Um, one of the things I love about St. Louis is that the Cardinals have a special place. And I think once a cardinal, always a cardinal. I want to take you back to your playing days though in St. Louis. What was it like to just go around town during the season?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was amazing. Like you said, like once a cardinal, always a cardinal. So, like, you know, fit whether my family was in town or uh just, you know, meeting some friends out for dinner, uh, fans would come up, shake my hand, you know, thank me for what I did on the field. Um, just just a great city for for baseball fans. Uh just sports fans in general. Yeah. Uh but it it it was awesome, you know, riding around the city, uh being noticed. Uh it's it's a it's a great feeling for sure.
SPEAKER_01I'm sure it's great after a good game, but what about after a bad game? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00You get to go a little faster through uh through the city after a bad game for sure. But no, they're you you know they're they're just smart. They know they know the game in and out, and um, you know, they they want to talk about it. So it's it's fun to you know to be able to be part of an organization like that that um the fan base knows so much about the game. It's it's it's fun to take time and and chat with the fans.
SPEAKER_01And so many greats have played for the Cardinals over the years. When you came up from the small leagues to the big leagues, was there something to live up to? Like suddenly I had to be that type of a guy now because of all the prestige?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think uh I think you start feeling that you know coming up through the minor leagues knowing that you're part of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. You know, it's it's such a storied franchise like you know, Boston and New York, um, whatnot. So whenever I made my debut, uh debuted Sunday night baseball in Dodgers Stadium. Oh wow, which I was like nervous as crap. Uh but but no, to you know, to be able to put that jersey on day in and day out um to represent the city, the organization, uh, you know, it it it meant a lot to me. So I wanted to make sure that I was prepared. I wanted to make sure that that I left it all out on the field each night.
SPEAKER_01What was it like that first time you stepped to the plate in the bigs?
SPEAKER_00I was shaking. No, I uh it was a dream come true. Yeah. Uh it's it's something that you know every little kid dreams about in their backyard, you know, putting a major league uniform on and going out there and playing in front of, I mean, at that time Dodger Stadium is 50,000 plus. Uh Sunday night baseball national TV uh had about 150 text messages on my phone before I went out to get ready for the game. So I I knew that you know the world was watching. I knew my my family and friends were watching, and I uh wanted to make all them proud. So it, you know, it was awesome to be able to stay. I I didn't want to wait around. First pitch I saw laced it up the middle for a base hit, and I and then it was kind of like the the jitters were gone and whatnot. So it was it was a blast.
SPEAKER_01Is it important though to to have a little bit of that butterfly feeling when you when you play every single game, or at some point is it just I'm just doing what I do?
SPEAKER_00No, I th I would say every game that I'm you know suited up to go play, I I got those butterflies, and it was like you know, it was a good thing for me. It knew that I cared, it it knew that I was ready to go perform. Uh I I joked with my wife and and and my you know the mental guy that I worked with uh that I needed to get the butterflies all in formation. Okay, flying in the same direction. Uh that that's whenever I knew that I was, you know, I knew that I was getting ready to go uh compete, but also I was prepared and I could kind of just take a deep breath and know that I just go out there and play the game that I know how to play.
SPEAKER_01It's interesting that you brought up having a mental coach because we coach everything else when it comes to sports, really almost everything else when it comes to life. But we don't hardly ever look for somebody to get our minds right. How much did having a mental coach straighten you out?
SPEAKER_00Oh, huge. I wish I wish I would have, you know, started with one earlier in my career. I didn't I didn't start using one. Uh actually, my wife, who was my trainer that helped me lose all the weight, she was kind of the one that kind of introduced me to the mindset and the mental game inside you know the game of baseball. Uh and then it was whenever I was with the Nationals that I really started working with somebody every day. Um so I wish that I would have you know started earlier in my career, but a game changer. I I think everybody, you know, should should you know be with working with somebody and and whatnot to get their mind right, and whether it's you know, just in a in a job or whether it's in sports, you know, you gotta you gotta have that right positive uh mindset to to go do what you need to do.
SPEAKER_01All right, hold on for a second because there's so much more to talk to you about. Gotta ask you about some of your teammates and everything else. We're gonna take a quick break though, we'll be right back with more with Matt Adams, aka Slim City.
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SPEAKER_01It matters where you bank. All right, welcome back to the rundown with Runny Now. We're here with uh Slim City, aka Matt Adams. I guess now I'm gonna call you Slim City first. I love that. I love it. Now you can slide through and just it's my town. Um, we're talking about the mental approach to baseball. And you played with a couple of guys that were serious about the game. Not only that, they held everybody else accountable to their seriousness. I'm talking about Albert Pool Holst and Yachty or Molina. What was it like to be in the clubhouse with Yachty?
SPEAKER_00Intense. Intense. Yeah, one word I could describe as intense. Uh first guy in the clubhouse, last guy to leave. He was, you know, he'd get there, he was straight to the video room preparing. Um he showed up to the field prepared. It it that guy was, and Albert, Albert, too, though those two guys were five, six, seven steps ahead of everybody else. Really? And it was just but yeah, but Yachty did such a good job of, you know, like you said, holding everybody accountable, holding the teammates accountable, holding the coaching staff accountable, because he saw the game from a different perspective, being a catcher. You know, you see everything kind of happen in front. Um, but the way that he prepared for a game, no matter if it was, you know, a last place team in the division, or if it was, you know, we're going into battle against the first place team fighting for a playoff spot, he was he was dialed in, he was locked in, and he knew, you know, what those guys across the field were going to do before they even did it, which was really cool to be able to, you know, call him a teammate and be able to just learn from them.
SPEAKER_01One thing about him and Albert is that they were always consistent. They did everything the same way. Their games were pretty much you weren't what I want to say, you you never saw him in the game do something where you thought he wasn't prepared to do because of their consistency. When you look at Albert and his greatness, I mean both of these guys are Hall of Famers, but I mean let's let's give a a a nod where a nod is due. Albert's at a whole nother level when it comes to the players. What separated him from the bunch, you think?
SPEAKER_00I I would I would probably say like, I mean, both of their mindsets. Yeah. You know, I I think you Albert carried himself with such confidence that you know he he knew that no matter who was standing out on that mound, he wasn't, they weren't getting him out. He was getting the job done. And and Albert did such a good job of giving himself up when he needed to, getting the guy over to third base less than two outs, you know, get you know, infield back, hitting the ground ball, get that RBI in. Um just little things like that, that you know, he was he was a a a selfless player. Yeah. Um, you know, he took the selfishness out of it and he wanted to do everything for the team. And I I think, you know, that coupled along with his confident mindset, I think that's what separates him.
SPEAKER_01Now Albert would never be called Slim City. You know, he always always a big fellow when he played the game. But at the same time, very athletic. Did he ever surprise you, especially when he would do the splits and things like that at first base to get the ball? Did he ever surprise you athletically?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I just I I think you know, the way that he moved around the base, I mean, he w he came up playing third base. Yeah. Uh uh he even played a few games at at third base early on in his career. So I I I think to be able to do that, you gotta be you gotta be athletic. And and you know, he I I don't know what his training, you know, regim was, but uh he took really good care of his body and he knew what his body needed on a on a daily basis, and and it showed when he stepped out onto the field.
SPEAKER_01They're so serious. Did they ever joke around? Were they ever like regular guys where they were always Yachty and Albert?
SPEAKER_00No, they uh that that's what you know was really cool about those two guys. Um they knew when to have fun in in you know in the clubhouse. They knew when when it was time to be serious and you know, when we were getting ready to go compete for a game, but they also knew you know how to keep it light and because it it's it's a game. We you know, we're playing a kid's game for a living, and and you know it's it's super competitive at the highest level, but you gotta you gotta still be able to to find find ways to have fun, and and the two of them did a really good job of that. Who was the clown of the clubhouse? Uh my first couple years, I probably have to say maybe Skip Schumacher. Okay, I can play that. Another one that like was super serious, but like he was he was kind of a jokester. Uh Waino. Yeah, I can see that. I see that especially like whenever you know wasn't his start day. Yeah. He was you know, he was he was goofing off messing with everybody. Um and then later on, like um, I mean, John Jade, Scout, like those guys, those are the guys that kind of took me under their wing, you know, Scous, JJ, Freeze, those three um were really the three that kind of took me whenever I was a rookie under their wing and taught me how to be a true professional on and off the field. And and and those guys, but they learned from Albert, Yachty, Wayne, they learned from the greats in Cardinal history to how to go about their business, and and they they carried those characteristics with them.
SPEAKER_01When we speak of Cardinal history, there is a moment of you rounding first base. I won't forget. 2014, yeah? Okay. So you you hit this ball, there's kind of like this mini celebration, and then there was a little nervousness. Oh, yeah. So talk me through the at-bat.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh, you know, game four, uh, we're up 2-1 in the series against the Dodgers. We're at home, bottomless seventh, 2-0 game, runners on first and second. I hit a ball, hanging curveball from Kershaw, and instantly, I mean, this is, you know, photos out there everywhere. My arms go up instantly. I'm standing at home plate, and then I see the flight of the ball kind of change. I see Matt Kemp sprinting back to the wall, and I'm like, oh shoot, I better get on my horse. Like, if I don't make it to second base and that ball stays in the yard, I'm gonna hear about it. Oh, yeah. Everybody fans, teammates, coaches, everybody. Um, so I started to take it off a little bit, and back then I wasn't, you know, I was bigger, I wasn't as fast, so I knew that I needed to get everything. No. Okay, all right. Um, but then I saw the ball land in the bullpen. I saw the, you know, all the people in the bullpen start celebrating. That's whenever, you know, I'm leaping up and down, down first base. Chris Maloney, our first base coach, had to kind of push me towards first base to make sure that I didn't miss uh miss touching first base and uh the rest is history. But that that was a moment where you know, honestly, kind of put me put me on the map uh for my baseball career here in St. Louis and you know through throughout Major League Baseball. So that that moment uh I still pull up that video and watch um multiple times.
SPEAKER_01But that close to a embarrassment as opposed to being a hero. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And and and they say what it's a game of inches, and that that specific moment was a game of inches for sure. Lived up to the hype. Yeah, a little bit more topspin, that ball uh definitely wouldn't have cleared that wall, and uh who knows where we'd be at. Well, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.
SPEAKER_01Right there's a chance of that going down. What was your greatest moment when you look back at the career and say that's the one that will always be number one in my life?
SPEAKER_00I I think um outside of that moment that we just talked about, the Kershaw Homer, uh, it was winning the World Series in 2019. Yeah. Being able to, you know, be the last team standing at the end of the season holding that trophy. Um that that I'm getting chills right now thinking about it. Uh just going back to that moment. That, you know, that's what everybody dreams about. Yeah. Yeah, you know, little kid, backyard, bottom of the seventh or bottom of the ninth, uh, bases loaded, tie game, gonna be the hero driving the winning run in to win the World Series. Um and and we got to celebrate, you know, in Houston, uh being the last team to to stand tall.
SPEAKER_01Of course you didn't win it with the team in red. Yeah. Knowing what the history is and everything else, do you look back at it and go, I wish we could have won 12 there with the Cardinals before I went somewhere else? Do you ever go, man, we were we were a team that competed, we were there, but we couldn't get over the hump.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I you know, I think back to that that 13 team, um, we just ran into a Boston team that was on fire. We nobody could get Big Poppy out that year in the playoffs. I think he hit close to 800 that that playoffs, and didn't matter if the ball bounced in front of the plate, he was hitting it out of the ballpark. So when when a guy's that hot, it's it's hard to hard to compete. But I I think we we did a great job that that postseason of you know running the gamut, and um we've we finished strong, even though we didn't get the job done in you know winning an award series there in 13. But um we left it all out on the field.
SPEAKER_01There were a lot of moments in that series too. A lot of moments where you think it could have gone either way for a while there, but they probably were the team of destiny that season. Um one of the things I wanted to ask you, because in many ways you're a role model to so many people, for the ability to get from point A to point Z and point Z being the major leagues, what is the advice you give to the young kid out there who's you know playing catch in the backyard, thinking, okay, you know, I'm pretending, bottom of the ninth. How do you guide them to making their dream come true?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's uh that's a great question. I I think for me, what I tell people is uh have fun doing it first and foremost, but also don't take no for an answer. Um I would I came from a small town in central Pennsylvania, wasn't supposed to amount to anything, um, got rejected by you know all these Division I colleges and ended up going the Division II route, um, was told that I was supposed to be a high round draft pick, slid to the 23rd round. Like when when that if I would have fell into that trap of just listening to the external noise of, you know, you're not good enough, you're you know, you're never gonna make it, I wouldn't we wouldn't be sitting here today, I wouldn't have had the career that I had. Um so I I think you know being confident in yourself, having fun doing it, and not taking no for an answer. I think those are the three three big keys that I would give to any kid out there wanting to wanting to play baseball at a high level.
SPEAKER_01Did you feed off of that negativity? Because I know Michael Jordan did during his career. Did you take that and go, I'm gonna prove you wrong? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Yeah every single day. Yeah. You know, I I went out there and I played with a chip on my shoulder. It was like, okay, you think I'm not good enough to play Division I? Let me go play in the Division I summer league against all these pitchers, and I was the MVP of that league. Fast forward to the minor leagues being, you know, being passed on for 22 rounds. Yeah. Um, you know, I wanted to hit the ground running with my minor league career and um never hit below 300 until I got to the big league. So I I carried that, I carried that chip on my shoulder every single day, even once I made it to the big leagues. I knew that I knew that there was people coming from my job year in and year out, and I I knew that I needed to stay on the gas and never let off the gas until I retired.
SPEAKER_01Still burns now, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00100%.
SPEAKER_01I can tell because your intensity kind of changed a little bit. Um is it burning now for the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals? Do you look at this team and go, I can see the hunger, I can see the fire, or you're thinking it's a process that's still, you know, churning.
SPEAKER_00I think it's a I think it's a little bit of both. But but I think, you know, everything, you know, watching the this team compete in spring training, uh, I I think that I think they're hungry. I think they're I think they're hungry to get out there and prove to people that you know they believe in themselves. No matter what, you know, every all the baseball writers, all the media outlets that that are kind of writing them off for for already being a bad team before the season even starts, I think that's fueling their fire to you know to get out there, put the uniform on and prove people wrong. And and I'm excited because I I do think that they're gonna surprise a lot of people this year. I I think I think their offense is there. I think I think uh obviously the game of baseball comes down to you know pitching and defense. So I I think I think if the pitchers can can stay healthy and they can, you know, they're around the zone, they they throw strikes, they don't give too many free bases away. I think I think they're gonna I think the 26 Cardinals are gonna surprise a lot of people. You said it. You said it. Who should we watch? They're a player to watch? I like the young kid and getting ready to you know make his major league debut, JJ Weatherhole. I think uh Why not ride the favorite? Yeah, yeah. Um two, I'll uh you know, I I want to see how JJ carries himself. You know, Heim said it perfectly yesterday. Um, watching him show up spring training on a daily basis, prepare for a game. He prepares like a a big laker, carries himself with class like a big laker, um, goes about his business the right way. So I'm I'm excited to see how he handles the pressure of you know being a young guy, making his first um, you know, major league team and and and whatnot, but also I think a bounce back candidate is Jordan Walker. Oh I I think I think you know the guy's been kind of written off uh by so many people. I think he he made it a point this spring training to to prove some people wrong, and I think that last game in Florida, he's he's still you know, you see the glimpses there. I I think if he can kind of get his mind right and um stay confident with who he is and and what got him to this level, I I think you're gonna be see a big year from from Mr. Walker. Okay.
SPEAKER_01And I'll finish up with this one. It's it's been a couple of years now that you've been out of the game as far as a being a player. Can you watch the game yet without pretending to be at bat?
SPEAKER_00Uh it's hard. It's hard because I I mean I'm I'm a super competitor and um I I watch a game and I I still feel like you know, I feel great, my body's healthy. I still feel like I'd put a uniform on and go out there and play the game at the highest level. Um But no, I I I'm excited where the game's going. You know, I uh I'm excited to see all this young talent come in and um you know it's kind of passing the baton on to this next generation of um of baseball players. And and I I think the game's definitely headed in the right direction. So yeah, I can, you know, the WBC was kind of hard to watch. I I wish I was out there with a USA jersey on my chest playing and and whatnot, but um no, I'm excited for the for the season to kick off in a few days and and really excited to see this Cardinal team. Um, you know, how Mr. Bloom and his guys kind of put together this lineup um for this year, and um we'll see see how it goes.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Well, one thing that we know no one's got the nickname like you Slim City, aka Big Country, aka Matt Adams. Thank you so much, appreciate you. Absolutely.