MESA, Ariz. — Aside from towering over most of his Athletics teammates at 6-foot-5, Nick Kurtz blends in at his locker in the middle of the clubhouse.
That’s just the way he prefers it. Even now — maybe especially now — with extra fanfare and attention on him this spring as the American League’s reigning rookie of the year.
Kurtz stuck with his usual offseason routine of returning home to North Carolina, where the 22-year-old likes to “chill,” play video games and watch movies when he’s not busy trying to get even better at baseball.
“First of all, I’m excited for year two. I kind of know what to expect and what it’s like to play in the big leagues,” Kurtz said Sunday before his first Cactus League exhibition game of spring training. “Am I embracing the spotlight? Not so much. I’m a guy who likes to be out there, but obviously there’s a lot more eyes, a lot more expectations, which I’m all about. I use that as: Our team, we have higher expectations of ourselves and what we think that we can do, so it’s a good thing.”
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay will consider Kurtz for the leadoff spot — where he was hitting Sunday and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the team’s 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians — to maximize the slugger’s at-bats.