Meet Adam Ricks
Feb. 2, 2004
by Tracy Gale
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Hurricane fans may have noticed a player who runs out of the dugout onto the field, and who runs back in with the same intensity. That player is Adam Ricks, UM’s starting third baseman. Teammates and coaches see Adam show the same enthusiasm and intensity in every practice.
“I want my teammates to think I’m a gamer,” says Ricks.
Growing up in Northern California Ricks was, naturally, a San Francisco Giants fan. If you think his college team of choice to root for was Stanford or Cal, you’d be wrong. Mighty wrong.
“I was an FSU fan! I loved watching their football games on television. And that chant…I really got into the chant. Obviously my feelings have changed!”
Ricks was born in San Ramon, California and is the second oldest of four boys. Oldest brother Gus is an insurance agent, while brother Aaron goes to Diablo Valley College and youngest brother Alex is a junior in high school. Since arriving in Coral Gables in August 2002, Adam has only been home twice, but being a Hurricane and the experiences he is having makes it all worth it. He misses his family and friends, of course. Ricks calls home often, and says his dad was and still is the biggest influence in his life.
“My dad taught me everything I know, and I am not just talking about baseball. He was my little league coach. Even now with baseball, if I have a problem at the plate I still call him. I can tell him that I am popping up or whatever, and he can tell me what adjustments to make. He doesn’t need to see videotape of my swing, he just knows what I am doing wrong. I call home after every game.”
Ricks and new Junior College transfer Brendan Katin are roommates. He laughs and admits that, prior to arriving in Coral Gables, he didn’t even know the University of Miami was a private university. Ricks says he only knew about UM’s athletic success in baseball and football.
“Coach DiMare recruited me. Sacramento City College has a really good baseball program, and the former head coach there, Jerry Weinstein, was the assistant head coach here in the mid-1980s. Since then there’ve always been guys from Sac City coming to UM. The University of Arizona had some interest in me, along with a couple of other places, but I wanted to play here, and have a chance to win it all.”
Ricks came East-approximately 3,400 miles-for his opportunity to be a Hurricane and indeed, ‘win it all.’ Asked about his UM baseball career to this point, Ricks thinks back to that first day of ‘Fall Ball’ in 2002.
“I couldn’t believe I was here. I remember running onto the field here for the first time. It was the best!”
Ricks says he loves playing at Mark Light Stadium in front of the home crowds, and remembers 2003’s FSU-UM series as the biggest thrill of his career so far.
“That three game series was just amazing,” Adam remembers. “All of the games were electric. The Saturday night game, the second game of that series, was like the second largest crowd ever at Mark Light Stadium, and I hit a 3-run home run that night. It was just an amazing feeling.”
As thrilling as it was playing against #1 rival Florida State, traveling to Omaha was another level entirely. Ricks watched the College World Series on television growing up, and says the reason he chose to come cross-country and attend UM was for the chance to play in Omaha.
“I watched the ‘Canes win it all in 2001. Making the College World Series is the goal here every year, and that’s why you want to be a Hurricane. We expect to win. So playing out there, in a professional park atmosphere-Rosenblatt Stadium is a Triple-A ballpark-well, being on that field was so fun. It was like being a little kid and playing ball. When I was younger I used to watch the College World Series on ESPN and wonder what that loud ‘ping’ sound was…you didn’t hear that sound at major league games! And then last June there I was, getting to play in Omaha.”
Ricks has a number of personal goals he wants to achieve on-field this season, but would prefer to keep them to himself. He will say that he wants to hit .410 and play well enough to get drafted. There is one other goal he has for the 2004 season:
“I want to win a ring.”
Nothing would make Hurricane baseball fans happier than for Ricks to achieve his goal.
The Hurricane Hot Seat
1. MajorIt’s Business Management…because I had to pick something!
2. Name the UM class you’ve taken that has surprised you-and why:I’d say an Educational Psychology class. It was the psychology of how people learn. I was surprised because…I enjoyed it!
3. When you aren’t playing or thinking baseball, what do you like to do?I like to get on the road and drive. I just put a CD in and go. Also, I am really into the guitar now. My brother got me into it-he’s the real guitar player in the family but I’m learning. I have an electric guitar and play Metallica, from their mid-1980s stuff to their current stuff.
4. If you won the Lotto what would be the first thing you’d buy?A new Corvette…a red one!
5. What are the advantages of living in California over living in Florida?Well, besides my family and friends living in California, I’d say the time zone/time difference. You don’t have to stay up until 1 a.m. to watch a baseball playoff game!
6. What are the advantages of living in Florida over living in California?The ocean is a lot warmer!
7. What has been your favorite baseball road trip so far, and why?It would have to be when we played Cal State-Long Beach. Going back to California, I had family and friends at that series, and we won two out of three. It was great because Long Beach was only a six-hour drive from where I live, so my family was there, and I have friends who go to school in that area.
8. Favorite Food:Steak Fajitas.
9. Favorite All-Time Restaurant:The Teton Steak House in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
10. Ideal career/lifestyle after your baseball career is over:I wouldn’t mind coaching, maybe at the high school or college level. And I will probably be back in California.
11. If you could bat against one person in the history of baseball, who would you like to take some cuts against?Rob Nen. And hopefully he would only throw fastballs-I don’t think I could touch any of his breaking stuff! But I bet it’d be fun.
