Justin Adam Maxwell (born November 6, 1983) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. 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

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Biography

Early life

Maxwell is the son of Austin Maxwell, a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

dentist who also served as the "presidential dentist" from 1997 to 2002, providing dental care for US Presidents

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, and Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

, and their families. His mother, Kathy, was also a Navy officer. He has one sister. He grew up in Maryland and South Carolina, and lived in Japan for four years while his father was stationed there. Maxwell was drafted out of Sherwood High School by 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 ...

in the 43rd round (1279th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft, but opted instead to attend college at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, was named a league all-star, and returned to the league in 2004 to play for the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

. He was drafted, again, in by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round (291st overall), but declined, and the following year by the

in the 4th round (114th overall). He signed and played most of for the

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, on ...

, the Nationals Short-Season A team.

Professional career

Washington Nationals

In , he split his time between Low-A Hagerstown, and High-A Potomac, where, he combined to

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 ...

.281 with 27

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, 83 RBI and 35 stolen bases, the only player in Minor League Baseball to record at least 25 doubles, 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in 2007." 9TH 1891 Walk Off Grand Slam

After the minor league season ended, the Nationals promoted Maxwell to the major leagues, though he "was told not to expect much from his first month in the majors." On September 5, he made his debut, as a pinch hitter, and flied out to the warning track. Six days later, in his third pinch hitting appearance, Maxwell recorded his first career base hit, a pinch-hit

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

off an 0–2 pitch from Chris Seddon, of 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 ...

. After the 2007 regular season, Maxwell played for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the S ...

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 fille ...

. Maxwell was assigned to the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

of the Double-A Eastern League in 2008 after hitting .280 in 13 spring training games for Washington, but missed most of the year with a fractured wrist suffered while diving for a flyball in the outfield. Maxwell spent most of the 2009 season with the AAA

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

of the International League. He was called up late in the season because of injured center fielder

Nyjer Morgan Nyjer Jamid Morgan (born July 2, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cleveland Indians, in Nippon Pro ...

. On September 30, Maxwell hit a two-out full count walk off

off of Francisco Rodriguez of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

on Fan Appreciation Day, the Nationals' last home game of the season. Maxwell split time with the AAA

of the International League and the Nationals in 2010. On September 15, Maxwell hit a grand slam in the 2nd inning off of Mike Minor of 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 ...

giving him three grand slams in four career at bats with the bases loaded. In September, Maxwell sat out two games with a minor thumb injury suffered on September 18. He returned September 21 against the Houston Astros. Maxwell underwent Tommy John surgery after the season.

New York Yankees

On February 2, 2011 the Nationals traded Maxwell to the

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

for minor league pitcher Adam Olbrychowski. Maxwell began the 2011 season with the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 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 affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

, but his season ended prematurely due to a torn labrum. The Yankees designated Maxwell for assignment at the end of spring training in 2012.

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros claimed Maxwell off waivers on April 8. Maxwell led the team in home runs with 18. He batted .229 and had 53 RBIs.

Kansas City Royals

Maxwell was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Kyle Smith on July 31, 2013. He hit a walk-off grand slam on September 22, 2013 against the Texas Rangers. He was designated for assignment on May 16, 2014. After being re-added to the roster, he was designated for assignment again on June 30, 2014. Maxwell elected free agency in October 2014.

San Francisco Giants

Entering the 2015 spring training as a non-roster hopeful for the

, Maxwell hit for power and a .300+ batting average, which earned him a contract for the 2015 season. He was designated for assignment on September 1, 2015.

Miami Marlins

On November 30, 2015, Maxwell signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. He was released on March 29, 2016.

Boston Red Sox

On April 1, 2016, Maxwell signed a minor league deal with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

Lotte Giants

On July 6, 2016, Maxwell signed with

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pr ...

of the Korea Baseball Organization for the rest of 2016 season.

Broadcaster

From August 31 to September 3, 2019, Maxwell made his debut as a broadcaster, serving as a substitute studio analyst on the ''Nats Xtra'' shows that aired before and after Washington Nationals games on the

Mid-Atlantic Sports Network The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between two Major League Baseball franchises, the Baltimore Orioles (which owns a controlling 77% interest) and the Washington Nationals (whic ...

. He has served as a substitute for regular analyst F.P. Santangelo on the MASN broadcast of Nationals games during the 2021 season.

Personal

Maxwell is married and has three children. Maxwell is also currently attending University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Dentistry in the class of 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Justin 1983 births Living people Washington Nationals players Houston Astros players Kansas City Royals players San Francisco Giants players Maryland Terrapins baseball players Vermont Lake Monsters players Savannah Sand Gnats players Hagerstown Suns players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Syracuse Chiefs players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Corpus Christi Hooks players Omaha Storm Chasers players Criollos de Caguas players African-American baseball players Baseball players from Maryland Major League Baseball outfielders People from Olney, Maryland Peoria Javelinas players Lotte Giants players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Bourne Braves players Cotuit Kettleers players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people