Addison Russell is one of the few MLB players to have been drafted straight from high school. He made his MLB debut in 2015 and a year later in 2016 won the World Series with the Chicago Cubs for the first time in 108 years, ending their Billy Goat curse. Here’s a look at Addison’s rise to the top as well as details about his personal life.
Addison Russell Bio (Age, Ethnicity, Other Background Info)
Addison was born on January 23, 1994 in Pensacola, Florida. At three months, Addison nearly lost his life to a respiratory tract infection called “human respiratory syncytial virus.” Russell has Filipino roots from his mother’s side. He is the eldest of four children.
He played baseball at Pace High School in Florida. He also played football as a running back but focused more on baseball. Perfect Game ranked him number 24 on their list of top high school prospects. In 2010, Russell Addison participated in the Under Armor All-America baseball game and was part of the U.S. National Under-18 Team that won gold at the 2011 COPABE 18U/AAA Pan Am Games.
Addison in November 2011 had signed a National Letter of Intent to play college baseball with the Auburn Tigers baseball team at Auburn University. However, he would forego that to join the Oakland Athletics, who had selected him with the 11th first-round pick of the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. He received a $2.625 million signing bonus. dollars.
He started playing with the minor league Arizona League Athletics and at the end of the 2012 season he was named by Baseball America as the top prospect for the Oakland Athletics. In July 2014, Addison was traded to the Chicago Cubs. After another stint in the minor league, Addison Russell was called up in May 2015. The following year, Addison’s performance was instrumental in helping him win the World Series.
Parents
Russell’s parents are; mother MilanyOcampo-Russell and father Wayne Russell. However, Wayne Russell is not her biological father but her stepfather. Addison wa Geoffreylly born as Geoffreye O’Neal Addison Robert Watts Jr III to an African American father who remained unknown to the media.
It was after Wayne Russell adopted him at the age of 13 that he changed his name to Addison Wayne Russell. From the information we gathered, Addison’s father was never really involved in her life. Since the age of 30 months, her mother’s father, Wayne Russell, has been the main character in her life.
No information about Addisona’s biological father ever surfaced in public. However, Addison’s mother told USA Today in early 2017 that when she was born, she agreed with his biological father to name him Addison after his favorite actor Bruce Willis’ character, David Addison, in his favorite show, Moonlighting TV series.
Woman, children
Addison Russell has two children from two different women. One of his children, son Aiden Kai Margallo Russell, is from his marriage to Melisa Reidy, which ended in divorce in 2017. Addison met Melisa through a mutual friend in Pensacola, Florida , and in January 2016, they were married. However, prior to their marriage, they welcomed Aiden in 2015.
Unfortunately, their marriage was only short-lived. In June 2017, Melisa took to her Instagram page to post a cryptic message claiming she was being cheated, lying and being disrespected, which is why she hoped for a fresh start. Her friend took to the comments section of the now-deleted Instagram post to claim Addison punched Melisa in front of the kids.
Addison would later issue a statement denying allegations that he had physically abused his wife. MLB has opened an investigation into the physical abuse charges, but Melisa’s attorney said she will not cooperate with MLB.
Addison’s other child, a daughter named Mila JadeEngstrom-Russell was born in May 2015 to his ex-girlfriend Mallory Engstrom. Before things got bad, Addison was known to have frequently gushed about his wife (Melisa) on his Instagram page. When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, she was alongside their two children to celebrate the trophy with him. Melisa is from Bay Minette, Alabama and is a licensed cosmetologist.
Career statistics
As of June 2018, Addison Russell’s career stats are as follows:
Batting average: .243
Number of strokes: 48
Spear defeated: 206
