David Lee Adams (born May 15, 1987) 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. 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

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in 2013. Prior to playing professionally, Adams competed on travel teams and for Grandview Preparatory School in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

. He attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, where he played

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 pl ...

for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

Amateur career

Adams played in amateur baseball tournaments from a young age, winning the championship in a 12-and-under travel competition for a team representing Broward and Palm Beach counties, against a team representing

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

's Central Valley, at the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

Chris Volstad Christopher Kenneth Volstad (born September 23, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is a 2005 graduate of Palm Beach Gardens High School. He has played in MLB for the Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Pit ...

was a teammate. Adams attended Grandview Preparatory School in

. A second baseman for the school's baseball team, Adams batted .464 with 25

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI) and 17

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s as a sophomore.

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

followed Grandview Prep to see Adams. Adams committed to attend the

, to play

for the

Virginia Cavaliers baseball The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represents the University of Virginia in NCAA Division I college baseball. Established in 1889, the team participates in the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays its home games at Daven ...

team. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' rated Adams as the second-best high school third baseman in the United States. 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 ...

chose Adams in the 21st round of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

, but, disappointed with where he was selected, he opted not to sign, instead enrolling at Virginia. In his freshman year, Adams became the Cavaliers' regular starting second baseman. He had a .318

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 49

(RBI), and was named a Freshman All-American by ''

'' and

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. As a sophomore, in 2007, he had a .372 batting average and a .454

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, earning Second-Team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

honors. In 2006, 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

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 ...

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 2007 to play for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

. Adams played for the Cavaliers for three years, starting each season at second base. In his three years, Adams had a .325

, and placed in the all-time top ten for the Cavaliers with 226 hits, 142

, and 102 walks. The Cavaliers reached the

NCAA Division I baseball tournament The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb ...

in all of Adams' three years at Virginia.

Professional career

New York Yankees

Out of Virginia, the

selected Adams in the third round (106th overall) of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. Adams signed and made his professional debut that year with the Class-A Short Season

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

. Adams played for the Class-A

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

and Class-A Advanced

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

in 2009. He began the 2010 season with the Class-AA

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

, but suffered an ankle injury. The injury was originally thought to be a sprain. At the 2010 MLB trade deadline, the Yankees and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

almost completed a deal that would have sent Adams,

Jesús Montero Jesús Alejandro Montero López (born November 28, 1989) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. Signed by the Yankees in 2006, Montero became ...

, and

Zach McAllister Zachary Taylor McAllister (born December 8, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers. He was d ...

to the

for All-Star pitcher

Cliff Lee Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Philli ...

. When the teams shared medical reports, the Mariners determined that Adams' ankle was broken, not sprained. As a result, they chose to trade Lee to the Texas Rangers in a package centered around

Justin Smoak Justin Kyle Smoak (born December 5, 1986) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewer ...

. Still rehabilitating from his ankle injury, Adams played for Tampa and the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball e ...

in 2011. He was put on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

three times due to the ankle. Adams was added to the Yankees'

40 man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2011 season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Adams spent the 2012 season with the

of the Class-AA Eastern League, where he hit .306/.385/.450 over 383 plate appearances. He played in only 86 games, as he missed time due to back spasms. After the regular season, the Yankees assigned Adams to play in 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 fill ...

, where he played second and third base. David Adams at Minute Maid Park 2013 2

On March 26, 2013, the Yankees released Adams to make space on the team's 40-man roster for new acquisition

Vernon Wells Vernon Michael Wells III (born December 8, 1978) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the New York Yankees. Wells ...

. The Yankees re-signed him to a minor league contract three days later. After playing in 27 games for the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

, in which he batted .316, the Yankees purchased his contract on May 15, the first day he was eligible to be promoted to the majors. Adams made his major league debut on May 15, 2013 and got his first career hit. Adams became the first Yankee to make a major league debut on a birthday. On May 16, 2013, Adams got his first career double and RBI. On May 20, 2013, Adams hit his first major league home run off

Freddy García Freddy Antonio García (born October 6, 1976), is a former Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. He is best known for his many seasons with seven Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, including the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and ...

in a game against 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. He played in 35 games with a .190 average, 2 home runs, and 9 RBI until being demoted to Triple-A on July 8, 2013. Adams got promoted again from Triple-A on July 24, 2013 after Luis Cruz was put on the DL. He was sent down on July 28, 2013 to make room when Jayson Nix was activated off the disabled list. On August 5, 2013, with

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

going on the DL, Adams was recalled again from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was then optioned back to Triple-A on August 11, 2013 in exchange for pitcher

Dellin Betances Dellin Betances (; born March 23, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and New York Mets from 2011 to 2021. Betances was named an Major League Baseball All-S ...

. On September 1, 2013, Adams was called up for a fourth time with the Yankees this season. After the season, Adams was non-tendered by the Yankees, making him a free agent.

2014–2017

On December 13, 2013, Adams signed a major league deal with 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 F ...

. He was placed on outright waivers on March 22, 2014. Adams was claimed off waivers by the

on March 22, 2014. He played 100 games in the minors for the Orioles AAA and AA minor league teams. On February 11, 2015, Adams signed a minor league contract with the

Miami 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 franc ...

, he played the entire year with the Marlins AA Affiliate. He played 57 games for the Aguilas del Zulia of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

during the off season and on November 23, 2015, Adams signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

that includes an invitation to spring training. Adams only played 68 games with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He became a free agent on November 7, 2016. In the off season he played 16 games for the

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua ( en, Aragua Tigers) is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares i ...

of the

Coaching career

Adams became a coach for Gulf Coast Yankees in 2017, and served as their

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 ...

in 2018. In 2019, Adams was named the manager for Staten Island.

Personal life

Adams' father, Dale, coached David on his 12-and-under travel team, and at Grandview Prep.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, David 1987 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball coaches from Florida Baseball players from Florida Bowie Baysox players Brewster Whitecaps players Charleston RiverDogs players Falmouth Commodores players Gulf Coast Yankees players Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players People from Margate, Florida Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Staten Island Yankees coaches Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Virginia Cavaliers baseball players