Adam Eaton (outfielder)

Adam Cory Eaton (born December 6, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2012 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and played with them through the 2013 season. He played for the Chicago White Sox from 2014 to 2016. Prior to playing professionally, he played college baseball for Miami University.

Career

Amateur career

Eaton graduated from Kenton Ridge High School in Springfield, Ohio. He is the fourth player to reach the major leagues from Kenton Ridge preceded by Dave Burba, Rick White and Dustin Hermanson. A pitcher and outfielder in high school, Eaton's fastball could reach as high as 92 mph, while he batted .482 in his junior season in 2006. He helped lead his team to the regional finals in 2004 and 2005. Eaton earned All-Ohio honorable mention honors that year, as well as being named to the All-Miami Valley first team and the Springfield News-Sun's All-Area first team as a sophomore and junior. However, a bulging disc suffered while playing basketball limited Eaton in his senior season in 2007.

Eaton committed to attend Miami University on a college baseball scholarship. Miami recruited Eaton as a two-way player. He played for the Miami RedHawks baseball team in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in NCAA Division I. In 2009, he was named a MAC All-Star outfielder.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks drafted Eaton in the 19th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, with the 571st overall selection. In 2010 and 2011, Eaton had a .340 batting average with the Diamondbacks' minor league affiliates. Eaton was named a Pioneer League All-Star outfielder in 2010, and a California League All-Star in 2011. In 2011, he batted .318 with 145 hits and 72 walks, good for a .434 on-base percentage (OBP), which was the fourth best OBP in minor league baseball. Eaton also stole 34 bases. He was invited to spring training in 2012, where he impressed Diamondbacks' manager Kirk Gibson, and received as many at bats as Diamondbacks regulars.

Eaton played for the Reno Aces of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 2012. He was named the PCL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player. The Diamondbacks called Eaton up to the major leagues on September 4. Eaton was expected to play for the Diamondbacks for the 2013 season, but suffered an injury to his right elbow during spring training. He returned to the Diamondbacks in July, and played in 66 games.

Chicago White Sox

On December 10, 2013, the Diamondbacks traded Eaton to the Chicago White Sox in a three-team deal, involving the Diamondbacks, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the White Sox. The Diamondbacks received Mark Trumbo from the Angels and two players to be named later (Brandon Jacobs and A. J. Schugel) and the Angels received Tyler Skaggs from the Diamondbacks and Hector Santiago from the White Sox.

Eaton batted .300 with 15 stolen bases during the 2014 season. During spring training in 2015, Eaton and the White Sox agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $23.5 million, with options for two additional years. During a game against the Kansas City Royals on April 22, 2015, Eaton grounded out to Yordano Ventura, who shouted profanity at Eaton, which ignited a bench-clearing brawl. Eaton was unaffected while five players, including Ventura were ejected.

Washington Nationals

On December 7, 2016, the White Sox traded Eaton to the Washington Nationals for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, and Dane Dunning. On Opening Day, Eaton went 1-2, was walked twice, stole a base, scored a run, and hit a double against the Miami Marlins.

Personal life

Eaton has been confused with former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Adam Eaton. On one instance, he received six licensing checks from MLB worth $20,000 each, and has received fan mail meant for the other MLB veteran. Eaton is married to former Miami RedHawks softball player Katie Osburn Eaton. The two of them had a baby boy named Brayden Eaton. Adam's brother, Zach Eaton, is an acquisitions officer in the United States Air Force.