James Darnell (cropped)
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James Thomas Darnell (born January 19, 1987) is a 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 tea ...
player who is retired. He was drafted in the second round 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 ...
and played for the
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 penna ...
from 2008 through 2013.


High school

Darnell attended
Upland High School Upland High School is a four-year public high school located in the city of Upland, California. The school was established in 1955 as part of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, and since 1988 it has been a member of the Upland Unified ...
,
Arrowhead Christian Academy Arrowhead Christian Academy is a private Christian high school located in Redlands, California, United States. History and campus Co-founded in 1979 by Dr. Larry W. Poland and Gordon Shipps, Arrowhead Christian Academy consists of grades 9-12 an ...
and
San Ramon Valley High School San Ramon Valley High School is a four-year public high school located in the East Bay neighborhood of Danville, California, United States. It is a part of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. It is a National Blue Ribbon school from th ...
. He was a four-year varsity starter and a four-year All-League high school selection. He compiled a career
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 ...
of .475 with 20
home runs 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 ...
and 50
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.


College

In 2007, Darnell led the
South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...
Baseball team with a .331 average. He collected 19 home runs and 63
RBIs 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 ...
. James earned second team All-
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
honors at third base. In 2006 and 2007, Darnell 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 ...
for the
Hyannis Mets The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...
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 ...
. In 2007, he was a Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star. In 2008, James hit .306 with 19 homers and 81 RBIs and again selected to All-
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
honors at third base. At the University of South Carolina Darnell was accepted into number one international business school at the
Darla Moore School of Business The Darla Moore School of Business is the official business school of the University of South Carolina. Founded in 1919, the Moore School is located in Columbia, South Carolina and currently enrolls over 5,500 undergraduate and 800 graduate stu ...
. He was also an SEC Academic Honor Roll Member.


Professional career

Darnell was selected in the 2nd round (69th overall) of the 2008 draft by the
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 penna ...
. He was rated by
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 ...
as the Best Athlete within the San Diego Padres organization. In 2009, James was a Baseball America Top 100 Prospect. Following the 2009 season, Darnell was ranked the San Diego Padres number 3 prospect. Darnell was promoted to the Class-A
Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...
of the
Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...
in . He hit .329 with 17 doubles, seven home runs and 38 RBIs in 66 games with the TinCaps. He was selected as Mid-Season Mid-West League All-Star before his promotion to the Class-A Advanced
Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park se ...
of the
California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...
. With the Storm he hit .294 with 18 doubles, 13 home runs and 43 RBIs in 60 games giving him a combined total of a .311 average with 35 doubles, four
triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...
, 20 home runs, 81 RBIs, eight stolen bases and 87 walks. At season's end he was named as the Padres' Organizational Player of the Year by
MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...
. Darnell played for the Class AA
San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...
during the 2011 season. James hit .333 with 17 home runs, 62 RBIs, .434 OBP, .604 SLG in only 76 games. He was selected as Texas League Player of the Week, Mid-Season All-Star, MVP of the Texas League All-Star Game, Baseball America AA All-Star, and selected to participate in the 2011 XM Futures Game at
Chase Field Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks season, 1998, the year the Diamondbacks ...
. During Darnell's Minor League career, he played in 407 games, compiled a .297 average, hit 63 home runs, drove in 264 runs, .394 OBP, and .502 SLG. Darnell made his major league debut at
Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...
in New York on August 8, 2011. James played in 25 MLB games, homering off of
Wade Miley Wade Allen Miley (born November 13, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Miley in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the ...
and
Stephen Strasburg Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Strasburg was selected by Washington with the first overall pick in the 2009 Major League ...
. James' career was cut short by three shoulder operations. MLB.com


Tampa Bay Rays

Darnell signed a minor league deal with the
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) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...
on January 6, 2014. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, James Living people 1987 births Baseball players from Contra Costa County, California San Diego Padres players South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne Wizards players Lake Elsinore Storm players San Antonio Missions players Tucson Padres players Baseball players from Fresno, California Sportspeople from Danville, California