Lane Weston Adams (born November 13, 1989) 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

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

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 ...

Early life

Adams is a Red Oak, Oklahoma native."MLB Rookie Profile: Lane Adams, OF, Atlanta Braves" - Minor League Ball
/ref> He is part Native American and a member of

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw language, Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Indian reservation, Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation ...

. Adams attended Red Oak High School in Red Oak. Playing guard for the school's basketball team, he scored 3,251

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

, making him the fifth-highest scorer in Oklahoma high school basketball history. His 93.7% free throw percentage as a junior led all of Oklahoma. He committed to attend

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second-largest u ...

on a basketball scholarship.

Career

Kansas City Royals

The Royals selected Adams in the 13th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, and he signed with the Royals for a $225,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

rather than attend college. Adams was a 2012

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 ...

Mid-Season All Star.Lane Adams Stats, Highlights, Bio , MiLB.com Stats , The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
/ref> He played for the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 2013. He was a 2013 MiLB Royals Organization All Star, and was named Royals’ 2013 co-Minor League Player of the Year with pitcher Yordano Ventura. After the 2013 season, the Royals added Adams to 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 ...

. In 2014, playing for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals he batted .269/.352/.427 with 65 runs (tied for 6th in the league), 25 doubles (tied for 5th), 38 stolen bases (3rd) while being caught 6 times, and 9 hit by pitch (tied for 6th) in 524 at bats.2014 "Texas League Batting Leaders" , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> Adams was a Mid-Season Texas League All Star and Post-Season All Star. On September 1, 2014, the Royals promoted Adams to the major leagues. He made his Major League debut that night, replacing Raúl Ibañez as a pinch runner in the eighth inning of the Royals' game against the Texas Rangers. In 2015, again playing for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Adams batted .298/.360/.466 with 29 stolen bases (tied for 4th in the league) while being caught 6 times in 373 at bats. He was released in November 2015.

New York Yankees

After the 2015 season, 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 ...

claimed Adams off of waivers. In 2016 for the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

he batted .253/.343/.363 with 31 stolen bases in 36 attempts in 289 at bats. On July 28, 2016, he was released by the Yankees.">"Lane Adams Stats" , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> He contemplated retiring at 26 years of age.

Chicago Cubs

On August 3, 2016, Adams signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization. Playing for the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, he batted .325/.378/.506 with 9 stolen bases without being caught, in 83 at bats. Adams elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Atlanta Braves

Adams signed a minor league contract with the

organization on December 13, 2016. Braves manager Brian Snitker said: “I didn’t know who he was. I’d never heard of him.” With the

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

in 2017, he batted .264/.320/.461 with 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts, in 178 at bats. The Braves promoted him to the Major Leagues on April 25, 2017. Adams recorded his first major league hit in a game against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

four days later. Adams hit his first major league home run, a three-run shot, against the San Francisco Giants on June 22. On September 10, Adams hit a 2-run, walk off home run against the Miami Marlins in the 11th inning. The home run clinched the NL East for the Washington Nationals. For the 2017 season with the Braves, he batted .275/.339/.468, and was successful in all 10 of his stolen base attempts, in 109 at bats. On April 19, 2018, Adams 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 the Braves. He refused an assignment to the Gwinnett Stripers and elected free agency on April 27.

Chicago Cubs (second stint)

On May 5, 2018, Adams signed a minor league deal with the

. He hit .325 in 22 games for the Double–A

and .231 in 7 games for the Triple–A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. Adams was released by the Cubs organization on June 30.

Atlanta Braves (second stint)

On July 16, 2018, Adams signed a minor league deal with the

. He was called up to the major leagues on September 1. With the Braves in 2018, he batted .240/.345/.520 with one steal in 25 at bats. The Braves outrighted him to the minors on October 31. He elected free agency on November 2. Through 2018, in his major league career Adams had batted .263/.333/.467 with 11 stolen bases without being caught, in 137 at bats. In his minor league career he had batted .264/.338/.403 with 235 stolen bases while being caught 44 times, in 3,718 at bats.

Philadelphia Phillies

On January 14, 2019, Adams signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. He played for the Triple–A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

, batting .255/.340/.465 with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs in 271 at bats, as he stole eight bases in ten attempts. He was released on July 1, 2019.

Atlanta Braves (third stint)

On July 31, 2019, Adams signed a minor league deal with the

. In 18 games for the Double–A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

, he went 3–for–39 (.077) with three RBI and two stolen bases. Adams elected free agency following the season on November 4.

Minnesota Twins

On February 17, 2020, Adams signed a minor league deal with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. Adams did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He became a free agent on November 2.

Acereros de Monclova

On May 20, 2021, Adams signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. Adams hit .263/.324/.326 with 11 RBI in 26 games, but was released on June 21.

Tigres de Quintana Roo

On June 24, 2021, Adams signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. In 9 games for Quintana Roo, he went 2–for–25 (.080) with no home runs and one RBI. Adams retired from professional baseball following the season and later became a private hitting instructor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Lane 1989 births Living people People from Le Flore County, Oklahoma Baseball players from Oklahoma Major League Baseball outfielders Kansas City Royals players Atlanta Braves players Arizona League Royals players Idaho Falls Chukars players Kane County Cougars players Burlington Royals players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Peoria Javelinas players Omaha Storm Chasers players Trenton Thunder players Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tennessee Smokies players Iowa Cubs players Gwinnett Braves players Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma people Native American baseball players Gwinnett Stripers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Acereros de Monclova players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico 20th-century Native American people 21st-century Native American people