Auburn recruit Addison Russell likes to hit, but loves to field

Addison Russell of Pace (Fla.) is one of the best shortstops in the country, was recruited by most every major college baseball program and is almost a sure first-round draft pick in this year's Major League Baseball draft.

But you'd never know it talking to him.

"I've never heard him talk about himself," Dean of Students Charlie Warner said. "You wouldn't know who Addison was if you walked into the dugout. He always talks about his teammates, not himself. As a person, he's really too good to be true."

That's quite an accolade coming from a school administrator. And Warner knows Russell on or off the field as well as anyone, because he's also his baseball coach.

On the field, the coach also thinks he's too good to be true.

"He is just a tremendous talent," Warner said. "He's the most talented player I've ever coached."

Warner has coached plenty of talent in his 29 years as a head coach. During his 20-year tenure at Pace, only four players have started at the shortstop position all four years of their high school careers, and the previous three — Derrick Arnold (Braves), Jason McBride (Yankees), Drew Cumberland (Padres) — all ended up making it to the pros.

"Athletically, Addison is superior to those three guys," Warner said. "Just his athleticism and his strength and power combined, they are just amazing."

Warner first heard of Russell from a travel baseball coach when the budding superstar was in seventh grade. But at the time, Warner only knew his first name.

"A travel coach called me and told me I'd have one of the best players in the area coming to my school, and he said, ‘His name is Addison,'" Warner recalled. "And when I asked what his last name was, the coach said, ‘It doesn't matter, he's a one-name kind of guy.' And he's lived up to that billing."

At the plate, Russell has hit better than .500 in each of his three seasons. In 2010, he led the team in hitting (.529) when Pace won the school's fourth baseball state championship. Last year, he batted .500 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs (slugging percentage of .926) for the 26-5 Patriots, who were eliminated in the state semifinals.

"It was a total letdown to not win it all," Russell said. "We were expecting big things and then we didn't get the calls we wanted, and the balls didn't drop for us. But that's how the game goes."

Russell can also hit for power. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound righthander has tremendous strength and can lift more than 300 pounds in the clean, which enables him to "hit with tremendous power to all fields," according to his coach. Russell has hit 21 home runs over the past two seasons.

But despite those gaudy offensive numbers, it's Russell's ability on defense that separates him from his peers around the country at the shortstop position.

"Defensively, he could play in the pros right now, I have no doubt about that," Warner said emphatically. "He's the only player I've ever had that would rather work on defense than hit. The ball always goes in his glove. He never misses a bad hop."

Once he has the ball secured, Warner said Russell has an innate skill that's rarely seen at the high school level.

"He throws out every runner by a step and a half regardless of their speed," Warner explained. "Most infielders throw the ball as hard as they can no matter what. Addison has an ability to read how hard the ball is hit and know the velocity needed to throw the runner out. He doesn't throw it as hard as he can. Instead, he throws it as hard as he needs to. You can't teach that."

Russell, who won a gold medal as a member of the 2011 COPABE 18U/AAA Pan American National Team, has always been a shortstop.

"I've been playing shortstop since I was 5 and so it's second nature to me," he said. "I love the pressure. I perform better under pressure. I am where I am because I perform good at crucial times in the game. You just have to have confidence and believe in yourself."

His prowess at the plate and in the field attracted the attention of nearly every major college baseball program. And although it wasn't until last month when he made his decision official, Russell's choice wasn't a surprise.

"I had my mind made up a long time ago," Russell said of his verbal commitment to Auburn University as a sophomore. "I like how the community is surrounded by the school. It's laid back and feels just like home. I like the players that are there and the coaching staff is amazing."

Most experts predict Russell will be drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball June Entry Draft, and if that happens, the student-athlete will then have a major decision to make.

"The family and I haven't talked it out yet," Russell said. "Right now I'm definitely leaning toward the education because a college degree is always something to fall back on."

But for now, Russell is focused on the task at hand, which is to win another state championship. And along the way, despite his stardom, that process sometimes includes prepping the field and other manual labor often reserved for "lesser" players.

"He's the first one to grab a rake or help clean up," Warner said. "He's a silent leader, and a great one."

He really does sound too good to be true.

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.