JUPITER, Fla. -- Matt Adams donned the No. 15 jersey during the Nationals’ 2019 championship season, linking his name to the number in Washington’s celebratory lore.
Three years passed before those double digits were worn again by a Nats player. When they were, the same name was embroidered above them.
On Tuesday, Matt and Riley Adams were in the starting lineup together in the Nationals’ 5-3 win over the Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The pairing was one of a shared last name, a once-shared number and a newly-formed bond between teammates.
“He’s a cool dude,” Riley said. “Getting to know him has been fun.”
Riley was assigned No. 25 when he was acquired by the Nationals from the Blue Jays in 2021. The next offseason, the Nats hired bullpen coach Ricky Bones, who also wore No. 25. Riley switched to No. 15, and he found many ties to it.
“Fifteen works -- I like it, it looks good,” Riley explained last year in Spring Training. “It’s also kind of cool because it was Matt Adams’ number, so there’s kind of a fun little thing there. And my dad’s name is Matt Adams, too, so double cool.”
After the Nationals signed Matt to a Minor League deal in December, Riley figured another change was in store. “I’ll do three numbers in three years; that’s not a big deal for me,” he thought. But there was no phone call or text message all winter.
When Riley arrived at Spring Training this February, No. 15 remained on his nameplate. In another corner of the clubhouse, Matt’s locker had No. 18 on it. Riley approached Matt, who has eight more years of Major League experience, to make the offer in person.
“He had success with that number,” Riley said. “He won a World Series with that number. It’s a lot more special to him than me, so I’m more than willing to give that to him if that’s what he wanted. But he didn’t want it at all.”
Matt had been asked by the club if he wanted back his old number, which he wore for 205 games between the 2018-19 seasons. He declined. While No. 15 was Matt’s uniform for a monumental career achievement, he had worn No. 18 in 2017 with the Braves and it carried personal significance to him.
“My first day here, he was like, ‘I'm really surprised that you didn't come asking for it back because I gladly would give it back to you,’” said Matt. “But I’m not that type of guy. That's his number. … I’ve kind of got a little more meaning with 18. My wife has Jewish descent, so there’s meaning with ‘chai.’ My stepson’s birthday is on the 18th of July, so there’s meaning behind that. … 18 has been good for me, so I’m good with that.”
Matt, who was drafted in 2009, had seen plenty of number swaps over his pro career. But he also had seen some that didn’t go smoothly, and he didn’t want to put himself or anyone else in that position.
“I’m not going to name names, but I’ve been with some people where they made it hard on guys to get their number back,” he said. “I never wanted to be like that. When I saw that go down, I made a promise to myself that I never wanted to do that to anybody – whether it was a super young dude or a guy with the same amount of service time as me.”
Riley had never played with a teammate with the same last name before, let alone with the additional tie of the same number. The catcher and the first baseman/designated hitter have connected over their commonalities and, in turn, gotten to establish a relationship away from the game.
“I love the kid,” said Matt. “I like the way he goes about it, so I think he wears it proudly and I’m looking forward to see what he can do with it this year.”