Bruce Maxwell

Bruce Maxwell
Maxwell with the Acereros De Monclova in 2022
Free agent
Catcher
Born: (1990-12-20) December 20, 1990 (age 33)
Wiesbaden, Germany
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 23, 2016, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.240
Home runs5
Runs batted in42
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Bruce Tyrone Maxwell III[1] (born December 20, 1990) is a German–born American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics from 2016 through 2018.

Maxwell is the first MLB player to join other US athletes protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem.[2]

Early life

Maxwell was born on a U.S. military installation in Wiesbaden, Germany, while his father, Bruce Jr., was stationed there with the U.S. Army during a tour of duty.[1] He is biracial, his father being African-American and his mother being Caucasian[3]

Maxwell played first base at Sparkman High School in Alabama. He then played first base and catcher in college baseball at Division III Birmingham–Southern College in Alabama.[4][5]

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics selected Maxwell in the second round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[6] He made his debut that year with the AZL Athletics, and was promoted to the Vermont Lake Monsters of the Low-A New York-Pennsylvania League after six games. For Vermont, he batted .254 with 22 RBIs and was charged with 18 passed balls in 38 games.[7][1] In 2013, playing for both the Beloit Snappers in the Single-A Midwest League and the Stockton Ports in the High-A California League, he batted .275 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs in 104 games between both teams.

In 2014, Maxwell batted .243/.334/.334 between Stockton and the Midland RockHounds of the Double-A Texas League.[7] In 2015, he spent the whole season at Midland, batting .243/.321/.308 in 96 games.[7]

2016

Maxwell began 2016 with the Nashville Sounds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Maxwell was called up to the majors for the first time on July 23, 2016. He made his major league debut that night.[8] In 60 games for Nashville prior to his promotion, he was batting .321 with ten home runs and 41 RBIs.[9] He spent the remainder of the season with Oakland after his promotion and batted .283/.337/.402 in 33 games.

2017

Maxwell began 2017 with Nashville and was recalled and optioned multiple times before he was called up to Oakland for the remainder of the season on June 22. In 76 games for Oakland, he batted .237 with three home runs and 22 RBIs.

Artistic interpretation of Bruce Maxwell Kneeling in 2017

On September 23, 2017, Maxwell became the first MLB player to join other US athletes protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem;[2] Maxwell placed his hand over his heart, and teammate Mark Canha stood next to Maxwell and put a hand on his shoulder in support.[10] Maxwell's actions came in response to President Donald Trump's comments that professional football franchise owners should fire players who knelt during the anthem. On Twitter and through his agent, Maxwell said his decision to kneel represented concern for racial injustice as well as freedom of speech and exercise of peaceful protest.[11] The Oakland Athletics immediately issued a statement saying the team "pride[s] ourselves on being inclusive" and supports "players' constitutional rights and freedom of expression."[10] While supported by the A's, Maxwell's future career in the MLB was seen as impacted by the reaction to his kneeling.[12] He remained the only MLB player to protest by kneeling until 2020, when the league allowed for "Black Lives Matter" patches and organized league-wide kneeling for social justice in the aftermath of the nationwide protests of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.[13]

Subsequently, Maxwell said that while eating at a restaurant with a city councilman with whom he had attended high school, Devyn Keith, and another friend in Maxwell's hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, a waiter objected to Maxwell's protest and refused to serve their table.[14] The waiter denied the story, saying he did not know who Maxwell was.[15]

2018

Maxwell began 2018 with Oakland. He was placed on the restricted list on May 16 when the Athletics entered Canada to play the Toronto Blue Jays, as he was not eligible for entry into Canada as he had not yet been sentenced for his assault with a deadly weapon charge that was placed in the previous off-season.[16][17] He was designated for assignment on September 1, 2018.[18] For the season with the A's, he batted .182/.207/.309 with one home run. He elected free agency following the season on November 2.[19]

Acereros de Monclova

On March 6, 2019, Maxwell signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.[20] He was successful in his first season with the club, slashing .325/.407/.559 with 24 home runs and 112 RBIs across 109 games played. Maxwell was also selected to the LMB All-Star Game and won the Serie del Rey with the Acereros, which was the first-ever championship for the team.

Maxwell re-signed with the Acereros de Monclova for the 2020 season. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was canceled.

New York Mets

On July 27, 2020, the New York Mets signed Maxwell to a minor-league deal, pending a physical and a negative COVID-19 test.[21] Maxwell did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[22] He re-signed with the Mets on a new minor league deal on November 2, 2020. In 9 games for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets in 2021, Maxwell slashed .174/.355/.348 with 1 home run and 6 RBI.

San Francisco Giants

On June 5, 2021, Maxwell was traded to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for cash considerations.[23] Maxwell underwent Tommy John surgery in July and missed the remainder of the season.[24] In 9 games for the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels, Maxwell had gone 8-for-34 with 1 home run and 6 RBI. Maxwell elected minor league free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.[25]

Acereros de Monclova (second stint)

On January 14, 2022, Maxwell signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League .[26] Maxwell slashed .365/.472/.615 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs across 44 games played.

Piratas de Campeche

On March 16, 2023, Maxwell was traded to the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League.[27] In 18 games, he batted .231/.412/.365 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs.

Rieleros de Aguascalientes

On June 14, 2023, Maxwell was traded to the Rieleros de Aguascalientes of the Mexican League.[28] In 12 games, he batted .194/.356/.444 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. On July 8, Maxwell was released by the Rieleros.[28]

Saraperos de Saltillo

On November 21, 2023, Maxwell signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League.[29] He was released prior to the start of the season on April 9, 2024.[30]

World Baseball Classic (WBC)

Maxwell 2022 WBC Qualifier - Regensburg, Germany

Maxwell has represented team Germany at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers for three cycles (2016, 2020(Canceled),and 2022).[31][32]

Coaching career

Toros de Tijuana

On April 10, 2024, Maxwell joined the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League coaching staff as the catching coach for the 2024 season. It was his professional coaching debut at the age of 33.[33] As part of a management restructuring, the club relieved Maxwell of his duties on May 21. [34]

Awards and honors

Award Year Team League
MID Mid-Season All Star 2013 Beloit Snapper MID
CAL Mid-Season All-Star 2014 Stockton Ports CAL
PCL Player of the Week 7/17/2016 Nashville Sounds PCL
MiLB.com Organization All-Star 2016 Oakland Athletics AL
MEX Mid-Season All-Star 2019 Acereros del Norte Mex

Personal life

On October 28, 2017, Maxwell was accused of pointing a firearm at a food delivery driver delivering food to him at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona late at night. Maxwell was arrested on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.[35] On July 2, 2018, he was sentenced to two years probation for disorderly conduct.[36]

References

  1. ^ a b c "RockHounds: Midland's Maxwell starting to turn a corner". Midland Reporter-Telegram. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Madani, Doha (September 24, 2017). "MLB's First Player Just Took A Knee During The National Anthem". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  3. ^ Woo, Jeremy (September 23, 2017). "Who is Bruce Maxwell?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  4. ^ "Birmingham-Southern's Bruce Maxwell takes break from spring training to play for Germany". AL.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  5. ^ "The Bat Is Back For Bruce Maxwell | BaseballAmerica.com". BaseballAmerica.com. March 11, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  6. ^ "Bruce Maxwell selected 62nd overall in 2012 Major League Baseball Draft - Birmingham-Southern". www.bscsports.net. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "Bruce Maxwell Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "Bruce Maxwell Stats, Fantasy & News". Oakland Athletics. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  9. ^ "Bruce Maxwell Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Slusser, Susan (September 23, 2017). "A's Bruce Maxwell first MLB player to kneel for anthem". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  11. ^ "A's catcher first in MLB to kneel during anthem". ESPN. September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  12. ^ ""MLB Exec: Kneeling During National Anthem May Keep Teams from Signing Bruce Maxwell"". Sports Illustrated. December 14, 2018.
  13. ^ ""Whatever Happened to Bruce Maxwell."". Alabama Media Group.
  14. ^ Rollins, Khadrice (October 24, 2017). "Bruce Maxwell: I was denied service by pro-Trump waiter". SI.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  15. ^ McKay, Hollie (October 25, 2017). "Waiter: MLB catcher Bruce Maxwell made up story about service refusal over anthem protest". Fox News. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  16. ^ "A's to place Bruce Maxwell on restricted list for Toronto series". SF Gate. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  17. ^ "Police Report Says Bruce Maxwell Put Gun in Woman's Face, Cussed Out Police". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  18. ^ Hall, Alex (September 1, 2018). "Oakland A's call up 8 players in flurry of September moves". Athletics Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  19. ^ Eddy, Matt (November 6, 2018). "Minor League Free Agents 2018". Baseball America. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  20. ^ Adams, Steve (March 6, 2019). "Bruce Maxwell Signs With Mexican League Club". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  21. ^ "Sources: Mets sign Maxwell, catcher who knelt". July 28, 2020.
  22. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". June 30, 2020.
  23. ^ "Minor MLB Transactions: 6/6/21". June 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "Giants' Bruce Maxwell: Recovering from Tommy John surgery". August 4, 2021.
  25. ^ "2021-22 Minor League Free Agents for All 30 MLB Teams". November 9, 2021.
  26. ^ "¡ACEREROS TIENE A UN VALIOSO ELEMENTO DE REGRESO!" (in Spanish). January 14, 2022. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  27. ^ "Piratas: Bruce Maxwell con el galeón".
  28. ^ a b https://www.milb.com/player/bruce-maxwell-622194name="MiLBStats"/>
  29. ^ "LMB: Moviemientos en listas de reserva - 21 de noviembre de 2023". milb.com. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  30. ^ "LMB: Moviemientos en listas de reserva - 9 de abril de 2024". milb.com (in Spanish). April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  31. ^ Axisa, Mike (May 11, 2020). "2021 World Baseball Classic canceled; event may not return until 2023, report says". www.cbssports.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  32. ^ "Deutschland gibt Kader für World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Regensburg bekannt / Erstes Spiel am Samstag um 19 Uhr". baseball-softball.de (in German). DBV. September 13, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  33. ^ "Toros de Tijuana presents its roster for the 2024 season". www.elimparcial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  34. ^ "LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 21 y 22 de mayo de 2024". milb.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  35. ^ "Oakland A's Catcher Bruce Maxwell Arrested at Scottsdale Home". ABC 15/KNXV-TV. October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  36. ^ "A's Maxwell gets probation in gun-related case". July 2, 2018.
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