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SALT LAKE CITY — Adam Law doesn’t walk too far out of the visitors dugout when he hears a voice that draws him to a growing crowd of autograph hawks loitering by the third base line of Smith’s Ballpark.
Sure, some are seeking his signature on a ball or card — which Law happily obliges — but others just want to welcome him back to his home state.
Law, a member of the visiting Tacoma Rainiers, had just landed back in Utah, and he is quickly greeted by family and friends. He greets them with waves, hugs, handshakes and fist bumps.
All of this commotion clearly catches his teammates’ attention. “Let’s go, celebrity,” infielder Dan Vogelbach jabs, with a sly smile as he runs back into the dugout. Law quickly follows him there.
The Law name carries a certain gravitas in the Utah baseball sphere.
Vern Law, Adam’s grandfather, won 162 career games, a Cy Young Award and a World Series title in a 17-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Adam’s father, Vance, enjoyed an 11-year major league career and was an All-Star once for the Chicago Cubs. He went on to be the head coach at BYU after his career ended.
Although both Vern and Vance Law were born in Idaho, they reside in Provo and have for many years. It’s partly why Adam Law draws the popularity on this hazy, hot night in Salt Lake. There’s even a decent roar from the crowd each time his name is announced by the public address announcer.
As much as Adam enjoys carrying his family legacy, he also wants his own path in the majors — a dream he’s carried since he was 7. However, 21 years later, he knows there’s a lot of pressure on that journey.
If he were to be called up to Seattle, Tacoma’s parent club, he’d make his family just the sixth third-generation family in major league history.
It’s a super exclusive club in baseball, rarer than a spot on the hallowed Cooperstown walls. It’s even rarer than those who have thrown perfect games or even those who have turned unassisted triple plays.
That’s why he says he tries to put “blinders” on to focus on his day-to-day work to be a better baseball player. For example, he opted for a 20-minute hitting session in the ballpark cages before Thursday’s game despite the team canceling a pre-game batting practice.
But it’s also hard to hide from.
“People talk about it, so you think about it. I know it would mean a whole heckuva lot to my family, to my grandfather especially, who is dying for it to happen, but you just can’t think about it,” Adam Law said, wiping sweat off his forehead after the hitting session.
“There are so many good baseball players in the country at this level, in Double-A, and if you get caught up in that, it can really cause you to lose focus. And you still have to earn it. The fact that I have a baseball pedigree isn’t going to make me a major league baseball player. I have to earn it.”
Adam Law has earned his way up the ladder, too. He went from walk-on at BYU in 2009 to co-captain and a .303-career hitter by the end of his junior season in 2013.
His professional career began later that year as a 12th round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He even played a part of his rookie season in Utah with the Ogden Raptors.
From walking onto BYU to now being in position to potentially be a major leaguer would be quite special.
–Adam Law
He slowly climbed up the Dodgers’ organization, reaching Double-A Tulsa by 2015. However, the Dodgers traded him to the Mariners organization the following year. He played out that season in Double-A Jackson.
He reached the Triple-A ranks for the first time in May. He’s also made the most of it since. He entered the series against Salt Lake batting .295 with three home runs, 11 doubles and 28 RBIs in 40 games with Tacoma.
That’s not to say he doesn’t rely on his family lineage for help along the way or that he doesn’t cherish his family history. He said he’s learned a lot from his father and grandfather, especially on how to mentally deal with a 140-game minor league schedule.
With Vance Law spending his post-playing career in coaching, Adam Law said he’s also learned the game differently and in a way he said is important.
“With my dad being a coach, you get to see the game in a different perspective,” he added. “It has, in turn, helped me to respect my own coaches a whole heckuva lot more than what I would have (otherwise).”
Should he reach the majors and put the Law family further into the baseball history book, he adds that would be an emotional experience for him and his family.
“It would be such an incredible experience to share with my family and friends who have been with me since Day 1,” he said. “From walking onto BYU to now being in position to potentially be a major leaguer would be quite special.”
