Jeffrey Lee Russell (born September 2, 1961) is a former

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), ...

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 ...

who played 14 years from 1983 to 1996. Russell played for the Cincinnati Reds of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

and the Texas Rangers,

Oakland A's 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, all of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. He began his career as a starting pitcher with the Reds and Rangers, but was later converted into a closer. A two-time

All-Star in 1988 and 1989, Russell finished his Major League career with 186 career saves. In 1989, as a member of the Rangers, he led the A.L. in saves with 38 and won the 1989 A.L.

Rolaids Relief Man Award The Rolaids Relief Man Award was an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given from 1976 to 2012 to the top relief pitchers of the regular season, one in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (NL). Relief pitchers enter t ...

. Russell's son, James Russell, made the Opening Day roster of the Chicago Cubs in 2010. Russell became the pitching coach for the

San Rafael Pacifics The San Rafael Pacifics are a professional baseball team based in San Rafael, California, United States. They play in the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major or Minor League Baseball. Prior to joining ...

in 2013, where his youngest son Casey was in the starting rotation. In 2014, he became the pitching coach for the

Grand Prairie AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Be ...

College and Minor Leagues

The Cincinnati Reds selected Russell out of Wyoming High School in the 5th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. Rather than immediately sign a professional contract, Russell enrolled in

Gulf Coast Community College Gulf Coast State College is a public college in Panama City, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and offers the Associate of Arts degree, Associate of Science degree, certificates, and as of 2011, bachelor's degrees. History The ...

. Russell instead made his pro debut the following year, as part of the starting rotation for the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays thei ...

of the Northwest League. At Eugene, Russell was teammates with outfielder Eric Davis, who went on to reach stardom with the Reds in the 1980s. The team, which finished 37-33, was led by future San Diego Padres manager Greg Riddoch. In 1981, Russell was promoted to the Florida State League, where he played for the Reds affiliate, the

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is ...

. While at Tampa, Russell started 21 games, and finished with a 10-4 second, second behind Nick Fiorillo for most wins on the team. By 1983, Russell was pitching for the Indianapolis Indians, the Reds Triple-A team, with whom he went 5-5 and earned the first save of his baseball career.

Major League Career

On August 13th, 1983, playing in front of the home crowd at Riverfront Stadium, Russell made his major league debut at the age of 21. In his major league debut, Russell pitched a complete game, allowing just five hits in the Reds 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres. In addition to pitching a complete game in his major league debut, Russell got his first career hit and RBI. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Russell got a hit off Padres starter

John Montefusco John Joseph Montefusco Jr. (born May 25, 1950), nicknamed "The Count," is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986, most notably as a member of the Sa ...

, a double that drove in Dann Bilardello for the third and final run. Russell finished his first season in the big leagues with a 4-5 record and an ERA of 3.03. The 1984 season was a rough season for Jeff as he finished with a 6-18 record and an ERA of 4.26. Not only did Jeff flirt with losing 20 games in a season, but he ended up leading the NL in losses with 18. On July 23rd, 1985, Russell was the player to be named later in a huge trade. The Texas Rangers sent third baseman

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 ...

to the Reds for outfielder Duane Walker. During his time in Texas, Russell was a steady part of the starting rotation and a two-time All-Star. He was soon converted to relief and in 1989, he led the American League in saves with 38. Russell remained the closer with the Rangers until 1992, when he was part of another blockbuster trade. The Texas Rangers sent Russell, outfielder Ruben Sierra, and pitcher Bobby Witt to the Oakland A's in exchange for outfielder

Jose Canseco José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oaklan ...

. Russell finished the season with the A's before signing with the

the following spring. Russell saved 33 games for Boston in 1993. Midway through the 1994 season, Russell was traded to the

for pitchers Steve Farr and

Chris Nabholz Christopher William Nabholz (born January 5, 1967) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos (1990–1993), Cleveland Indians (1994), Boston Red Sox (1994) and Chicago Cubs (1995). He batted and threw ...

. Russell spent the rest of the year with Cleveland before becoming a free agent and returning to Texas, where he spent the last two years of his career.

Post career

Russell took time off after he retired to spend with his family. He later ventured on a coaching career that would land him with the independent Texas Airdogs.

Awards and leaderboards

In 1984, Russell finished tenth in the league in hit by pitch, and eighth in shutouts with two. He was the 1989 American League Rolaids relief pitcher of the year. In 2017, the Texas Rangers inducted Russell and former outfielder Juan González into the franchise's hall of fame. Russell's plaque lists him as the busiest relief pitcher in Rangers history.

References

External links