Some fatherly advice helps Adduci stay focused

If you want to see some fierce fatherly pride, spend a few minutes with former big-leaguer Jim Adduci.

Adduci is the director of baseball operations at the Bulls-Sox Academy in Lisle, a bustling place where basketball players and baseball players go to work and play.

This past winter, Adduci's son, also named Jim, worked out at the academy. And when he was done with that, he'd work out a little more.

The younger Adduci had his name mentioned as a possible call-up from the minor leagues by the Cubs last September. The call didn't come then, but the Cubs rewarded Adduci with a spot on the 40-man roster after the season.

To hear his dad tell it, that didn't change a thing.

"My son's always been determined," said the elder Adduci, a Chicago native who played in the major leagues for three teams in the 1980s. "Whether he's going to be a free agent, whether he's going to be on the 40-man roster, whether or not he was playing basketball in high school, it didn't matter. His work ethic has always been superior.

"Those things don't make him work any harder, but he was very happy to be put on the 40-man roster."

Dad said he often has to tell his son to take it a bit easier.

"Sometimes, I have to try to back him off," he said. "He only took two weeks off after the season. He started lifting (weights), starting hitting, because he thought he might get an opportunity to go to winter ball, whereas I wouldn't pick up my bat until maybe after Christmas.

"He's in there working at it in October, November, December. He works extremely hard, which is really only one of the things you can control in the game."

The older Adduci played in 70 big-league games from 1983-89, so he knows how difficult it can be to make it. From that experience flows some good advice, which his son is only too glad to take to heart.

"It's great to be able to use him as a resource," said the younger Adduci, a graduate of Evergreen Park High School. "He's got great knowledge of the game and knowledge behind the game. It's great to be able just to call him up if I have a problem or maybe when I'm down a little bit or struggling.

"Mostly, everything is about having fun. This game is fun, and before you know it, it's over, so you might as well enjoy it. That's kind of his main message he gives to me."

Naturally, the elder Adduci would love to see his son make it to the majors, but it's not the be-all, end-all for him.

"Oh, I would be happy for him," he said. "He doesn't have to play in the big leagues for me. I would be happy for him because he worked so hard at it.

"But it would be more for him. I'm proud of him already."