Introduction
Bruce Tyrone Maxwell (born December 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Early life
Maxwell was born on a U.S. military installation in Wiesbaden, Germany, while his father, Bruce Jr., was stationed there with the U.S. Army during a tour of duty.
Maxwell played first base at Sparkman High School in Alabama. He then played first base and catcher in college baseball at Division III Birmingham–Southern College in Alabama. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.
Professional career
In 2012, playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters in the A- New York-Pennsylvania League, he was charged with 18 passed balls in 38 games. In 2013, playing for both the Beloit Snappers in the Class A Midwest League and the Stockton Ports in the Class A+ California League, he was charged with 17 passed balls. He caught 16% of attempted base-stealers, as runners stole 103 bases against him while he caught 19, in 83 games.
In 2014, he batted .243/.334/.334 between Stockton and the Midland Rockhounds of the AA Texas League, as he gave up 19 passed balls in 102 games. In 2015, he spent the whole season at Midland, batting .243/.321/.308. He also played for Team Germany at a 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier in March 2016.
Maxwell was called up to the majors for the first time on July 23, 2016. He made his major league debut that night. He batted .283/.337/.402. For the season, runners were 8-0 in stolen base attempts against him.