Adam William Russell (born April 14, 1983) is an American former professional

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 t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He pitched 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), ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

Amateur career

College

Russell was drafted by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

in the 26th round (782nd overall) in the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. Opting not to sign, he instead decided to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

, where he did so for three years.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Russell was selected by the

in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2004 MLB draft. He made his professional debut that year, combining to go 4–2 with a 3.75 ERA in 17 appearances (six starts) between the Rookie-Level

Great Falls Voyagers The Great Falls Voyagers are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Great Falls, Montana, and play their home games at Cente ...

and Class-A

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. The ...

in . Russell went 4–0 with a 2.37 ERA to earn promotion to Kannapolis on August 23. He made two starts at Kannapolis. In , Russell made 24 starts for Class-A Kannapolis, going 9–7 with a 3.78 ERA. He ranked eighth among White Sox minor leaguers in ERA and finished second on the Intimidators in victories. Russell was rated by '' Baseball America'' as the number seven prospect and possessing the best

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

in the White Sox farm system entering the season. He was 10–6 with a 3.43 ERA in 27 starts between Class-A Advanced

Winston-Salem Warthogs Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

and the Double-A Birmingham Barons. Russell ranked among the organizational leaders in starts, wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. Opponents hit .248, including a .210 mark by lefties against Russell. He began the season at Winston-Salem, going 7–3 with a 2.66 ERA in 17 starts. He was promoted to Birmingham on July 12, where he went 3–3 with a 4.75 ERA in 10 starts. He was 2–0 with a 3.65 ERA in 13 relief appearances with the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco Gia ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

. In , Russell went 9–11 with a 4.80 ERA and one save in 38 games (20 starts) in his first full season with Double-A Birmingham. Russell began the season in the starting rotation before moving to the bullpen on July 21. He was 7–9 with a 4.61 ERA as a starter and 2–2 with a 5.60 ERA in relief. He made nine quality starts. Russell pitched for the

Phoenix Desert Dogs Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

in the Arizona Fall League, going 2–0 with a 2.81 ERA in 11 relief appearances. Russell was again rated by ''Baseball America'' as the number seven prospect and possessing the best fastball in the White Sox farm system entering the season. On November 20, , Russell's contract was purchased by the White Sox, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft. Russell split the season between the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

of the International League and the Major League White Sox in . He was 4–0 with a 5.19 ERA in 22 relief appearances in his first season in the Major Leagues. The four wins came in his first 10 Major League outings and three of his four wins came at home and all against

American League Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all lo ...

opponents. He made his Major League debut on June 17 against the Pittsburgh Pirates with one perfect inning pitched and his first strikeout against

José Bautista José Antonio Bautista Santos (born October 19, 1980), nicknamed "Joey Bats", is a Dominican special advisor for the general manager of the Leones del Escogido and former professional baseball right fielder and third baseman. He played in Majo ...

. Russell earned his first major league win on July 1 as the White Sox defeated the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

3–2 in 10 innings.

San Diego Padres

On July 31, 2009, Russell was traded to the

along with Aaron Poreda,

Clayton Richard Clayton Colby Richard (born September 12, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, and Toronto Blue Jays. High school Richard w ...

and Dexter Carter for

Jake Peavy Jacob Edward Peavy (born May 31, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. He batted and threw right- ...

. In 15 games with the Padres, he went 3–1 with a 3.65 ERA in innings pitched.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 17, 2010, a deal was finalized that sent Russell, along with Cesar Ramos, Brandon Gomes and Cole Figueroa, to the

for Jason Bartlett and a player to be named later. Russell was designated for assignment on July 18, 2011. He cleared waivers a week later and was assigned to Triple-A on July 25.

Atlanta Braves

The

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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

signed Russell to a minor league contract on November 22, 2011. He was released on July 21, 2012.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On August 1, 2012, Russelll signed with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 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 h ...

, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

Baltimore Orioles

Russell signed a minor league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

on December 5, 2012. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

for the 2013 season, going 3–3 with five saves and a 2.37 ERA in 42 games (three starts).

Arizona Diamondbacks

The

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

signed Russell to a minor league contract on November 29, 2013. The Diamondbacks released him on March 27, 2014.

Cincinnati Reds

Russell signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds on May 2, 2014. He was released on July 28, 2014.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Adam 1983 births Living people People from North Olmsted, Ohio Baseball players from Ohio Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago White Sox players San Diego Padres players Tampa Bay Rays players Ohio Bobcats baseball players Charlotte Knights players Birmingham Barons players Winston-Salem Warthogs players Great Falls White Sox players Kannapolis Intimidators players Portland Beavers players Durham Bulls players Gwinnett Braves players Arkansas Travelers players Salt Lake Bees players Norfolk Tides players Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio