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Brother Rice Graduate Jim Adduci Reflects On Memorable Baseball Career

Former major leaguer helped Crusaders win school's first state championship in 1976.

Jim Adduci had always played baseball for the love of the game.

While that never wavered, the mentality changed slightly when he helped Brother Rice capture the state championship in 1976 as a junior outfielder.

“That set the tone for my career,” Adduci said. “It was a great group of guys that cared about winning. It was the first time I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I have a chance to go to college and get drafted.’ It was the beginning of me thinking I could make a career out of baseball.”

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After producing an all-state season as a senior for the Crusaders, the Evergreen Park resident went on to star at Southern Illinois University before playing professionally from 1980-1990, including parts of four Major League Baseball seasons.

The state championship at Brother Rice, which was the first in any sport in school history, remains a special memory for Adduci.

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The Crusaders won a program-record 36 games, culminating with a 5-4 victory over Libertyville in the title game.

“We just had a great coach (George Sedlacek) and great chemistry,” said the 52-year-old Adduci, who is the Director of Regional Operations for the Bulls-Sox Training Academy. “We had two front-line pitchers and good senior leadership. I don’t think there was as much pressure back then. Today, everything seems to be so serious. The truth of the matter is, we just enjoyed playing baseball and being a team.”

Mike Ladevich, who hit .436, and Bill Richards were named the team’s Most Valuable Players during the championship season, while Steve Klutcharch was 9-0 on the mound and Ken Ziemba was another standout pitcher, who struck out 103 batters. Ziemba tossed two no-hitters and combined on another with Chris Cabanski.

In addition to being all-state as a senior, Adduci was a two-time All-Catholic League selection and was named the team’s MVP his senior season when he hit .364 and led the Crusaders to the conference championship. He also hit .364 as a sophomore.

Brother Rice will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the championship this season, while Adduci was inducted into Brother Rice’s inaugural Circle of Champions this year.

“That was a very nice honor,” Adduci said of being part of the school’s Hall of Fame class. “The administrators and athletic department went out of their way to make sure it was a special night for everyone. Being part of the inaugural class for a school like Brother Rice is a great honor. I wasn’t familiar with some of the (inductees), but I was impressed by their backgrounds and what they accomplished. The more I sat and listened about the others, it further dawned on me what an honor it was. I’m in pretty good company.”

Moving On to Southern Illinois

Adduci was selected in the 28th round of the MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after high school, but opted to accept a scholarship to Southern Illinois. The Salukis, coached by Hall of Famer Itchy Jones, were coming off a third-place finish at the College World Series in 1977.

Adduci played three seasons for the Salukis, earning first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors and being named the team’s MVP in 1980. He holds the single-season slugging percentage record (.777), is one of just eight players to hit better than .400 in a season and is a member of SIU’s Hall of Fame.

“Southern Illinois was another big step in my career,” Adduci said. “If it was not for Itchy Jones, I never would’ve played pro ball. The kind of program Itchy Jones built, Southern Illinois competed with everybody in the nation. We were the team back in the ’70s. After three years with Itchy, I was ready. I never would’ve survived in professional baseball without everything I learned at Southern Illinois.”

Seventh-Round Pick of Cardinals

After his junior season at SIU, Adduci was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round in 1980.

He made his major league debut in 1983 at the age of 24 and had 20 at bats for the Cardinals.

“I anticipated getting drafted higher, but the seventh round was respectable,” said Adduci, who was an outfielder and first baseman. “I was at a point where I was ready for professional baseball, whether I was drafted in the first round or seventh. I moved up pretty quick.”

Adduci was traded to the Brewers in 1984 and made his Milwaukee debut in 1986. The Brewers released Adduci during the 1987 season and he spent the rest of the season playing in Japan. He resigned with the Brewers in 1988 and hit .266 in 94 at bats, but before the 1989 season he was sent to the Philadelphia Phillies where he hit .368 in 19 plate appearances. He became a free agent after the season and never played in the majors again.

One of the highlights of his career was when he made a diving stop at first base to save a no-hitter for Bob Forsch for the Cardinals in 1983.

“I was caught in a situation where I came up in the Cardinals organization and they won the World Series in 1982,” Adduci said. “Whitey Herzog built a team on speed, which was not a good fit for me. I was traded to the Brewers, who were a veteran team with three Hall of Famers on the team with Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. There was not a lot of room for younger players coming up.

"After they tied up their veterans to multi-year contracts, it kept guys like me down in the minors. Given an opportunity, I think it could’ve gone differently for me.”

Still, Adduci is grateful for the opportunity he had to put on a MLB uniform.

“It’s great to get to the big leagues, but if you don’t get the opportunity to get on the field, you’re not going to last long,” Adduci said. “It wasn’t until I got older when I realized my career didn’t turn out too bad. A lot of guys would’ve loved the opportunities I got. You don’t necessarily have that perspective when you’re in the moment, but you appreciate it more when you age.”

COMING THURSDAY: Log on at 6 a.m. on Thursday to read more. Jim Adduci's son is a hot prospect in the Cubs' organization. And dad keeps busy with his work in the White Sox Training Academy.

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