Austin Dean Maddox (born May 13, 1991) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. He batted and threw right-handed, and is listed at and .

Early years

Maddox graduated from high school in 2009 as the top

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

in the state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, having batted .544 in his senior year. He was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

in the 37th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, but he did not sign. Instead, he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where he was teammates with future MLB catcher Mike Zunino. Maddox batted .303 in his three seasons with the Gators (2010–2012). Initially a catcher and

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

, he made a total of 53 appearances as a pitcher in 2011 and 2012,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

78 and

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

14 in innings, while compiling a 1.86

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA).

Professional career

Maddox was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the third round of the 2012 MLB Draft, and signed with the team in June 2012. From 2012 through 2015, Maddox played in the lower levels of Boston's

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

; the

Rookie League Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast League Red Sox, the Class A Short Season

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

, the Class A Greenville Drive, and the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

. During 2016, he was promoted to the Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

and then the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

. In 2017, he again played in Portland and Pawtucket, and was called up to the majors for the first time on June 15. During six years in the minors, 2012 through 2017, Maddox appeared in 143 games, pitching innings with a 13–18 record, 4.27 ERA, and 1.282

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

, while recording 227 strikeouts, 83

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

s, and 25 saves. Maddox made his MLB debut on June 17, 2017, pitching the seventh inning in a Red Sox loss to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

; he retired the side without allowing a baserunner. He appeared in one more game in June, one game in July, and then ten games during September. He finished the regular season with 13 appearances for the 2017 Red Sox, allowing just one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

in innings pitched (0.52 ERA), with 14 strikeouts and two walks. Maddox was included on Boston's postseason roster for the 2017 American League Division Series. He made two one-inning appearances against the

, allowing one earned run (4.50 ERA), with two strikeouts and two walks, as the Red Sox lost to the eventual

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

champions. Due to shoulder inflammation during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, Maddox began the 2018 season 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 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

. He was sent on rehabilitation assignments with Triple-A Pawtucket on May 18, Double-A Portland on May 30, and Pawtucket again on June 2. On July 8, he was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. On August 16, Maddox was sent on a rehabilitation assignment with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, and on August 24 with Triple-A Pawtucket. On September 19, Maddox had surgery on his right

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

with what was described as a right shoulder strain; he did not play in any MLB games during 2018. He spent the entire year on the injured list due to an injured rotator cuff. The Red Sox won 108 games in the regular season and won the World Series defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. As he was technically on the team's roster despite not playing any games for them, he was awarded a World Series ring. The ring was listed for sale at Heritage Auctions in 2022 but went unsold. After the season, the Red Sox sent Maddox outright to Pawtucket, removing him from their

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, an ...

. Maddox spent the 2019 season on the injured list with Pawtucket. Maddox was released by the Red Sox on October 25, 2019. On February 28, 2020, Maddox announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Legal issues

On April 28, 2024, Maddox was taken into custody by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in Jacksonville, Florida as part of an undercover sting operation dubbed Operation "Valiant Knights". The operation, which took place from April 24 to April 28, targeted individuals soliciting sexual activity and/or committed to engaging in sex acts with purported minors at pre-arranged locations. Video footage of Maddox's arrest was shared by authorities on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

on May 20.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddox, Austin 1991 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Boston Red Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Florida Gators baseball players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lowell Spinners players Salem Red Sox players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players