Adam Michael Melhuse (born March 27, 1972) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

and Texas Rangers. He is was the hitting coach for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

AAA

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

High school, college years

Melhuse attended Lincoln High School in Stockton, California and was a student and a letterman in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. He was 1991

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

Freshman of the Year in baseball at Santa Clara before transferring to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. In 1991, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, and returned to the league in 1992 to play for the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Brook ...

Major League Baseball career

Previously, Melhuse played with the

, and Texas Rangers. He throws

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

and is a

switch-hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

Colorado Rockies

Melhuse collected his first career

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

on August 22, , in the 12th

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

of an unusual game between the Rockies and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. Out of pitchers, Rockies

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Buddy Bell David Gus "Buddy" Bell (born August 27, 1951) is an American former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) currently serving as vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for the Cincinnati Reds. After an 18-year ...

, asked injured

Brent Mayne Brent Danem Mayne (born April 19, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2004 for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, ...

, who was unable to swing a bat due to a sprained left wrist, if he could pitch. Mayne pitched the 12th inning and held the Braves scoreless. The following inning, with two

outs In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a batter or runner is out, they lose their ability to score a run and must return to the dugout until their next turn at bat. When three outs are recorded in a ha ...

and the bases loaded, Melhuse,

pinch hitting In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...

for Mayne, singled off of

Stan Belinda Stanley Peter Belinda (born August 6, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball player. A right-handed relief pitcher who also batted right-handed, Belinda is tall and weighs 187 pounds. He pitched from a three-quarters arm slot (sometimes categor ...

over shortstop

Walt Weiss Walter William Weiss (born November 28, 1963) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and manager and current bench coach for the Atlanta Braves. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 through 2000 for the Oakland Athlet ...

' head to win the game in walk-off fashion by a score of 8-7. This victory also earned Mayne a pitching win in what would be his only career outing on the mound.

Oakland Athletics

On November 6, 2002 Melhuse signed a minor league contract with the

. He would spend four seasons with the club as a backup to

Damian Miller Damian Donald Miller (born October 13, 1969) is a former professional baseball catcher. He won the 2001 World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, beating the New York Yankees. High school years Miller attended West Salem High School in West S ...

and later

Jason Kendall Jason Daniel Kendall (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 through 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kan ...

, with his best year coming in 2004 when he hit .257/.309/.463 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 69 games.

Texas Rangers

On June 10, , Melhuse was traded by the Athletics to the Texas Rangers for cash. Adam's career as a Texas Ranger was short-lived, as the club traded for fellow catcher

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Jarrod Scott Saltalamacchia (; born May 2, 1985) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Between 2007 and 2018, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Arizona ...

on July 31, 2007, which lessened Melhuse's playing time. Melhuse was designated for assignment on August 24, 2007, and would later be released.

Oakland Athletics (second stint)

He re-signed with the Athletics for his second stint in 2007 on September 1 when rosters were expanded. Despite being on the Athletics for a second go-around in September, Melhuse sat on the bench the whole time and did not get into a game. He declared free agency on October 8, 2007, though not before being outrighted to the minors on October 5.

Texas Rangers (second stint)

on January 11, Melhuse signed a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the Texas Rangers. He made the team out of spring training as a backup to starting catcher

Gerald Laird Gerald Lee Laird III (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Ca ...

, but injured his hand in a game against the

on April 24, resulting in his release.

Colorado Rockies (second stint)

In late June 2008, Melhuse signed a minor league contract with the

and was called up on August 14, 2008. On August 30, 2008, Melhuse was called up to the Rockies from the Triple-A Sky Sox to replace

Yorvit Torrealba Yorvit Adolfo Torrealba (; born July 19, 1978) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Toro ...

who was placed on the DL.

Texas Rangers (third stint)

Melhuse signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers in January . However, he was released on April 4.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On May 8, 2009, he signed a minor league contract with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Retirement

On June 17, 2009 Melhuse announced his retirement.

Post-playing career

Melhuse spent four seasons as an advance scout for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and two seasons in the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

system as manager of the

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Basebal ...

. In 2018, he joined the

organization as hitting coach for the

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

. He was transferred to the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

for 2019.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melhuse, Adam 1972 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Santa Clara County, California Brewster Whitecaps players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chicago Cubs scouts Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dunedin Blue Jays players Hagerstown Suns players Harwich Mariners players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Knoxville Smokies players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball catchers Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Oakland Athletics players Sacramento River Cats players San Antonio Missions players Sportspeople from Santa Clara, California Syracuse SkyChiefs players Texas Rangers players Tri-City Dust Devils players UCLA Bruins baseball players