Jason Maxwell--1999
Scout Tales... Jason Maxwell
Between Nashville and Memphis along
Interstate-40 rests the tiny community of
Bucksnort... yes, Bucksnort, TN. The
town is just a pimple on the butt of
Tennessee, with no Post Office to mail a
letter and not even a Walmart; but the
sight of the Citgo gas station on the
North side of the expressway at Exit 152
reminds me of Jason Maxwell.
Maxwell was a shortstop for Middle
Tennessee State University during my
first years of scouting for the Florida
Marlins. A lean and athletic looking kid,
Maxwell could field and had an arm that
played at short, though was probably
best suited for second base chores. He
was an average runner at best, but he
had the knack for contact, as Maxwell
seemed to collect a hit or two at every
MTSU game I attended.
As the 1993 Free Agent Draft
approached, I had contacted Maxwell to
inquire about his interest in signing to
begin a career in pro baseball. While he
wanted to begin a pro career, the MTSU
junior gave me the impression that more
money would be needed to sign him than
where I had placed him in my draft list.
Since one of the main aspects of the
draft is to select players who will sign in
order to fill the minor league rosters in
hope that they will eventually play for
your major league club; I decided that
Maxwell would not be a good candidate
to be selected by the Marlins. I even
invited Maxwell to a pre-draft workout to
showcase his abilities to my national
cross-checker in an effort to potentially
raise his draft stock to meet his ideas of
a signing bonus, but he passed on the
opportunity.
Thus, when the draft commenced, the
Marlins did not select Maxwell; instead
drafting Zac Stark out of Nashville’s
David Lipscomb High School in the 33rd
round from my draft list. A big, 6’6”
lefty with a fringy fastball and athletic
actions, Stark was my man. With blank
contracts in my briefcase, I proceeded to
make the trek from Cincinnati to
Memphis to watch Stark pitch in a
summer league game and to open
negotiations.
As I traveled the nearly 500 miles, I
would stop periodically to check the
voice mail system for messages, since it
was a time before cell phones graced
scouts pockets. It was at the Citgo
station in Bucksnort, TN where I received
the message from my wife to call a very
upset mother of Jason Maxwell. Being
conscientious I immediately returned the
call to Mrs. Maxwell who jumped all over
me for not drafting her son. It was not a
pretty conversation and she is still
probably mad at me today.
Unbeknownst to either of us, was that
fact that Jason Maxwell was indeed
drafted, though by the Chicago Cubs in
the 74th round of the draft.
Unfortunately, the Cubs scout had not
contacted Jason as again, it was the
dark ages of the 1990’s when draft lists
were not posted online and the
communication highway consisted of just
one slow lane.
Eventually the Cubs contacted Maxwell
as I imagine Maxwell and his family were
angry at the system, as the shortstop
signed quickly and headed off to chase
his dream.
Harboring no ill feelings, over the years I
secretly rooted for Maxwell to succeed;
after all, I had evaluated him as a
potential big league player.
After six seasons in the minors, Maxwell
debuted with the Cubs on September 1,
1998. He would collect his first big
league hit days later, September 11, as
he blasted a pinch-hit two-run homer off
Milwaukee’s Bill Pulsipher. Maxwell would
go on to log 110 games in the bigs from
1998 to 2001, as a utility infielder with
the Cubs and Twins, registering a .225
average.
Mostly, by being a 74th round pick,
Maxwell defied the odds and the
stereotype that insists that one has to be
a high pick in order to make it to the
majors.
So during this draft week as I found
myself driving past Bucksnort, TN,
thoughts turned to Jason Maxwell and
how I stood at the pay phone at the Citgo
gas station listening to his irate mother---
and a smile came to my face, as I am
truly happy that Maxwell made it to the
major leagues.
Editor’s Note: As for my lefty, Zac Stark
went 15-11, 4.50 in four minor league
seasons. Only 20 years old and in his
second pro season, Stark was a starter
for the Marlins’ Midwest League entry in
Kane County, though an early season
arm injury curtailed his blossoming
career. Nearly 20 years later, I still
communicate with Zac and occasionally
his parents.
(6/12/10)
Between Nashville and Memphis along
Interstate-40 rests the tiny community of
Bucksnort... yes, Bucksnort, TN. The
town is just a pimple on the butt of
Tennessee, with no Post Office to mail a
letter and not even a Walmart; but the
sight of the Citgo gas station on the
North side of the expressway at Exit 152
reminds me of Jason Maxwell.
Maxwell was a shortstop for Middle
Tennessee State University during my
first years of scouting for the Florida
Marlins. A lean and athletic looking kid,
Maxwell could field and had an arm that
played at short, though was probably
best suited for second base chores. He
was an average runner at best, but he
had the knack for contact, as Maxwell
seemed to collect a hit or two at every
MTSU game I attended.
As the 1993 Free Agent Draft
approached, I had contacted Maxwell to
inquire about his interest in signing to
begin a career in pro baseball. While he
wanted to begin a pro career, the MTSU
junior gave me the impression that more
money would be needed to sign him than
where I had placed him in my draft list.
Since one of the main aspects of the
draft is to select players who will sign in
order to fill the minor league rosters in
hope that they will eventually play for
your major league club; I decided that
Maxwell would not be a good candidate
to be selected by the Marlins. I even
invited Maxwell to a pre-draft workout to
showcase his abilities to my national
cross-checker in an effort to potentially
raise his draft stock to meet his ideas of
a signing bonus, but he passed on the
opportunity.
Thus, when the draft commenced, the
Marlins did not select Maxwell; instead
drafting Zac Stark out of Nashville’s
David Lipscomb High School in the 33rd
round from my draft list. A big, 6’6”
lefty with a fringy fastball and athletic
actions, Stark was my man. With blank
contracts in my briefcase, I proceeded to
make the trek from Cincinnati to
Memphis to watch Stark pitch in a
summer league game and to open
negotiations.
As I traveled the nearly 500 miles, I
would stop periodically to check the
voice mail system for messages, since it
was a time before cell phones graced
scouts pockets. It was at the Citgo
station in Bucksnort, TN where I received
the message from my wife to call a very
upset mother of Jason Maxwell. Being
conscientious I immediately returned the
call to Mrs. Maxwell who jumped all over
me for not drafting her son. It was not a
pretty conversation and she is still
probably mad at me today.
Unbeknownst to either of us, was that
fact that Jason Maxwell was indeed
drafted, though by the Chicago Cubs in
the 74th round of the draft.
Unfortunately, the Cubs scout had not
contacted Jason as again, it was the
dark ages of the 1990’s when draft lists
were not posted online and the
communication highway consisted of just
one slow lane.
Eventually the Cubs contacted Maxwell
as I imagine Maxwell and his family were
angry at the system, as the shortstop
signed quickly and headed off to chase
his dream.
Harboring no ill feelings, over the years I
secretly rooted for Maxwell to succeed;
after all, I had evaluated him as a
potential big league player.
After six seasons in the minors, Maxwell
debuted with the Cubs on September 1,
1998. He would collect his first big
league hit days later, September 11, as
he blasted a pinch-hit two-run homer off
Milwaukee’s Bill Pulsipher. Maxwell would
go on to log 110 games in the bigs from
1998 to 2001, as a utility infielder with
the Cubs and Twins, registering a .225
average.
Mostly, by being a 74th round pick,
Maxwell defied the odds and the
stereotype that insists that one has to be
a high pick in order to make it to the
majors.
So during this draft week as I found
myself driving past Bucksnort, TN,
thoughts turned to Jason Maxwell and
how I stood at the pay phone at the Citgo
gas station listening to his irate mother---
and a smile came to my face, as I am
truly happy that Maxwell made it to the
major leagues.
Editor’s Note: As for my lefty, Zac Stark
went 15-11, 4.50 in four minor league
seasons. Only 20 years old and in his
second pro season, Stark was a starter
for the Marlins’ Midwest League entry in
Kane County, though an early season
arm injury curtailed his blossoming
career. Nearly 20 years later, I still
communicate with Zac and occasionally
his parents.
(6/12/10)
