Justin Adam Maxwell (born November 6, 1983) 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. 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

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

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 ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, and

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

. He also played in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation. From 1982 through 1985, they played at Gudeok Baseball ...

Biography

Early life

Maxwell is the son of Austin Maxwell, a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

dentist who also served as the "presidential dentist" from 1997 to 2002, providing dental care for US Presidents

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, and Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

, and their families. His mother, Kathy, was also a Navy officer. He has one sister. He grew up in Maryland and South Carolina, and lived in Japan for four years while his father was stationed there. Maxwell was drafted out of Sherwood High School by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in the 43rd round (1279th overall) of the

2001 Major League Baseball Draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...

, but opted instead to attend college at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. In 2003, he 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 ...

with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park (ballpark) ...

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 ...

, was named a league all-star, and returned to the league in 2004 to play for the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League ...

. He was drafted, again, in by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round (291st overall), but declined, and the following year by the

in the 4th round (114th overall). He signed and played most of for the

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont, United States, who were founded in 1994 as the Vermont Expos. They were members of Minor League Baseball, in the New York–Penn League (NYPL), ...

, the Nationals Short-Season A team.

Professional career

Washington Nationals

In , he split his time between Low-A Hagerstown, and High-A Potomac, where, he combined to

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

.281 with 27

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 83 RBI and 35

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 ...

s, the only player in Minor League Baseball to record at least 25 doubles, 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in 2007." 9TH 1891 Walk Off Grand Slam

After the minor league season ended, the Nationals promoted Maxwell to the major leagues, though he "was told not to expect much from his first month in the majors." On September 5, he made his debut, as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

, and flied out to the warning track. Six days later, in his third pinch hitting appearance, Maxwell recorded his first career base hit, a pinch-hit

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

off an 0–2 pitch from Chris Seddon, of the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

. After the 2007 regular season, Maxwell played for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team based in Peoria, Arizona, that competes in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the S ...

in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. Maxwell was assigned to the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

of the Double-A Eastern League in 2008 after hitting .280 in 13

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 ...

games for Washington, but missed most of the year with a fractured wrist suffered while diving for a flyball in the outfield. Maxwell spent most of the 2009 season with the AAA

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

of the International League. He was called up late in the season because of injured center fielder

Nyjer Morgan Nyjer Jamid Morgan (born July 2, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cleveland Indians, in Nippon Professi ...

. On September 30, Maxwell hit a two-out full count walk off

off of Francisco Rodriguez of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

on Fan Appreciation Day, the Nationals' last home game of the season. Maxwell split time with the AAA

of the International League and the Nationals in 2010. On September 15, Maxwell hit a grand slam in the 2nd inning off of Mike Minor of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

giving him three grand slams in four career at bats with the bases loaded. In September, Maxwell sat out two games with a minor thumb injury suffered on September 18. He returned September 21 against the

. Maxwell underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

after the season.

New York Yankees

On February 2, 2011 the Nationals traded Maxwell to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

for minor league pitcher Adam Olbrychowski. Maxwell began the 2011 season with the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the S ...

, but his season ended prematurely due to a

torn labrum Labrum Latin, defined as "having the edge" * Labrum (architecture), a large water-filled vessel or basin with an overhanging lip * Labrum (arthropod mouthpart), a flap-like structure in front of the mouth in almost all extant Euarthropoda * Bron ...

. The Yankees designated Maxwell for assignment at the end of spring training in 2012.

Houston Astros

The

claimed Maxwell off waivers on April 8. Maxwell led the team in home runs with 18. He batted .229 and had 53 RBIs.

Kansas City Royals

Maxwell was traded to the

for Kyle Smith on July 31, 2013. He hit a walk-off grand slam on September 22, 2013 against the Texas Rangers. He was designated for assignment on May 16, 2014. After being re-added to the roster, he was designated for assignment again on June 30, 2014. Maxwell elected free agency in October 2014.

San Francisco Giants

Entering the 2015 spring training as a non-roster hopeful for the

, Maxwell hit for power and a .300+ batting average, which earned him a contract for the 2015 season. He was designated for assignment on September 1, 2015.

Miami Marlins

On November 30, 2015, Maxwell signed a minor league deal with the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. He was released on March 29, 2016.

Boston Red Sox

On April 1, 2016, Maxwell signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

Lotte Giants

On July 6, 2016, Maxwell signed with

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

for the rest of 2016 season.

Broadcaster

From August 31 to September 3, 2019, Maxwell made his debut as a broadcaster, serving as a substitute studio analyst on the ''Nats Xtra'' shows that aired before and after Washington Nationals games on the

Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between two Major League Baseball franchises, the Baltimore Orioles (which owns a controlling 77% interest) and the Washington Nationals (which o ...

. He has served as a substitute for regular analyst F.P. Santangelo on the MASN broadcast of Nationals games during the 2021 season.

Personal

Maxwell is married and has three children. Maxwell enrolled at the

University of Maryland School of Dentistry The University of Maryland School of Dentistry (abbreviated UMSOD), is the dental school of the University System of Maryland. It was founded as an independent institution, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, in 1840 and was the birthplace ...

in 2019 and graduated as a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 2022. As of 2025, he operates a dental practice called Major League Smiles in

Ellicott City, Maryland Ellicott City is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Justin 1983 births Living people Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Houston Astros players Kansas City Royals players San Francisco Giants players Maryland Terrapins baseball players Vermont Lake Monsters players Savannah Sand Gnats players Hagerstown Suns players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Syracuse Chiefs players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Corpus Christi Hooks players Omaha Storm Chasers players Criollos de Caguas players African-American baseball players Baseball players from Montgomery County, Maryland Major League Baseball outfielders Sportspeople from Olney, Maryland Peoria Javelinas players Lotte Giants players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Bourne Braves players Cotuit Kettleers players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen