James Thomas Darnell (born January 19, 1987) 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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

. 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

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. He was drafted in the second round of the 2008 MLB draft by the Padres.

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 Unifie ...

, Arrowhead Christian Academy 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 t ...

. 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 ...

and 50

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions 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 out ...

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 Fight ...

Baseball team with a .331 average. He collected 19 home runs and 63

RBIs A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

. James earned second team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

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 1,000 forme ...

. 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-

honors at third base. At the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

Darnell was accepted into number one international business school at the

Darla Moore School of Business Darla is a female given name of English origin which is a variant of Darlene. Darla means “Darling” Darla may refer to: People * Darla K. Anderson (), American film producer * Darla Hood (1931–1979), American child actress, best known for ...

. He was also an SEC Academic Honor Roll Member.

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Darnell was drafted by the

in the 2nd round (69th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. He was rated by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

as the Best Athlete within the Padres organization. In 2009, Darnell was a Baseball America Top 100 Prospect. Following the 2009 season, Darnell was ranked the Padres' number 3 prospect. Darnell was promoted to the Single–A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

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 RBI in 66 games with the TinCaps. Darnell was selected as Mid-Season Mid-West League All-Star before his promotion to the High–A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

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 Leagu ...

. With the Storm he hit .294 with 18 doubles, 13 home runs, and 43 RBI in 60 games giving him a combined total of a .311 average with 35 doubles, four

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 20 home runs, 81 RBI, eight stolen bases, and 87 walks. At season's end, Darnell 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 colum ...

. Darnell played for the Double–A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

during the 2011 season. James hit .333 with 17 home runs, 62 RBI, a .434 on-base percentage (OBP), and a .604 slugging percentage (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 Double-A 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, retractable-roof stadium in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks season, 1998, the ...

. 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 park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Boroughs of New York, borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York M ...

in New York on August 8, 2011. In 18 games for the Padres during his rookie campaign, he batted .222/.294/.333 with one home run (off of

Wade Miley Wade Allen Miley (born November 13, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Balti ...

), seven RBI, and one stolen base. Following the season, Darnell underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his shoulder. Darnell made 7 appearances for San Diego in 2012, going 4-for-17 (.235) with 1 home run and 1 RBI, which came against

Stephen Strasburg Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire 13-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Washington Nationals. He is a three-time Major League Baseball All-Star G ...

. On May 17, 2012, Darnell left a game against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

after injuring his shoulder while attempting to catch a Tony Gwynn Jr. fly ball. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on May 28, and missed the remainder of the season. Darnell subsequently underwent

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

surgery to repair the injury in August. On May 14, 2013, while playing for the Triple-A

Tucson Padres The Tucson Padres were a Minor League Baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, that competed in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team moved to Tucson from Portland, Oregon, for the 2011 ...

, Darnell dislocated his left shoulder, an injury which ultimately proved to be season-ending. Following the acquisition of

Pedro Ciriaco Pedro Joel Ciriaco Leguisamon (born September 27, 1985) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, ...

on June 14, Darnell was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by San Diego. He was released by the organization on June 21.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 6, 2014, Darnell signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. He began the season on the injured list of the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

as he continued to recover from his third left shoulder surgery. After ultimately never appearing in a game for the organization, Darnell 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