Rasmus already carrying spring in step
Early arrival can’t wait to ‘beat some folks, eat gummy bears’
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Strolling to the batting cage Tuesday morning at the Astros’ complex, Colby Rasmus stopped briefly to peek at righty Jordan Jankowski throwing a few pitches off a bullpen mound.
The highest-paid Astros player at $15.8 million this year, Rasmus could have breezed right by Jankowski, a non-roster invitee who’s never been to The Show. But snobbery doesn’t fit Rasmus’ outlook.
“I’m just going to try to be positive with these guys and love on everybody and make it just a fun environment to be in,” Rasmus said. “Every day’s going to be fun, not out here just sweating and, ‘Oh, man, it’s terrible.’ Just grinding it, pushing ’em, everybody pushing each other — like we did last year. That’s what we did.”
There’s some ebullience in Rasmus’ words, an earnest and raw projection. He’s grown a cultish following, with a bobblehead day set for this sea-
son to commemorate his 2015 postseason celebration antics, during which he had those oversized goggles, soggy hair, and more bottles than hands.
Rasmus wore a ’15 playoffs shirt on Tuesday, his first day at camp, which wasn’t a coincidence.
“My eyes, what I’m seeing right now is, I’m seeing red,” he said. “I’m ready to go out there and beat some folks, win some ballgames, chest-bump with these guys, and eat some gummy bears. You know what I’m saying?”
For all his quirks, Rasmus is starting to sound like a leader. There was evidence of that trait last year, when youngsters like pitcher Lance McCullers settled under his wing.
If he’s not the most interesting Astros personality, the 29-year-old Rasmus is at least the most publicly forthcoming, a stream-of-consciousness conversationalist with weird chin hair and sunglasses. His catchwords could fill one of the tiny books they sell along the checkout line at Barnes & Noble.
Hunger burns
Rasmus on Tuesday took a few cuts with hitting coach Dave Hudgens and third-base prospect Colin Moran before heading out around lunchtime. The left fielder and his f amily got into town on Monday.
“The wife wanted to come in and just kind of get things ready, so we came on down,” Rasmus said.
He’s one of several big league Astros already in camp two days before pitchers and catchers are due. But of 15 Astros making more than the major league minimum, Rasmus was the only one spotted Tuesday.
There was a humorous way of qualifying how good a job new manager A. J. Hinch did last year: You know how you know the 2015 Astros had a good clubhouse? Even Rasmus was happy.
Funny but true. And self-discovery, faith, the city of Houston’s culture, and winning all contributed to Rasmus’ joy.
“I’ve been hungry this offseason, which is something different than I felt in the past,” said Rasmus, who hit 25 home runs last year before adding four in six postseason games. “Ready to play some baseball, hit some homers, help my team win.”
The Division Series playoff loss to the Royals is part of, but not solely, his motivation. Rasmus started his cattle farm this off season, and he spent time with his girl s.
“I don’t know, just that hunger’s there to want to be a good baseball player,” he said. “Last year, I was still battling some things mentally with the game and stuff that had been going on in my mind and in my life. So the game, I think this year, will come a little — I don’t want to make it sound like it’s going to be easy, but I think what I learned last year and the things that have happened throughout my career just with age, I’ll be able to manipulate my body and my workday to make it work better for me.”
Playing it smart
Rasmus doesn’t recover as f ast as he used to. He’s not old, but he is older and wants to play smartly. He understands recklessly crashing into the wall can affect at-bats for days or longer and ultimately be a greater detriment than benefit — even though he’s always tried to play all out. (It’s the kind of attitude George Springer might also talk about someday.)
At the same time, “play free” is one of Rasmus’ mantras, a hard but vi- able balance to strike. He wants to be like a lab at the beach.
For a second straight year, Rasmus is on a one-year deal with the Astros. He’s making nearly double what he did last year, though, so the future’s probably a little easier to put out of mind.
“I’m just super excited to be an Astro,” Rasmus said. “That may sound corny, but I’m excited to be an Astro. I was excited to put this (2015 playoffs) shirt on today, put these pants on, and come out here to the field and see these guys. I was pumped to be here.
“It’s crazy to think that I can make that amount of money playing baseball from where I came from and just what it took to get here. So I’m going to live it up and enjoy it. … Every day catch the ball, grind it, let’s get after it, let’s have fun.”