By Kevin Lynch
At my annual fraternity banquet, it is not uncommon for the brothers to stand around bragging on our kids.
My son’s straight A’s and three letters in track pale in comparison to the accomplishment of one of my fraternity brothers.
It was Tuesday, June 17 when Brother Bill Russell got to see his son Adam make his Major League debut, pitching for the Chicago White Sox.
For the past couple of years at my fantasy league draft, I’ve thrown out Adam’s name and bid a dollar for him. It’s always fun to listen to the ruffling of pages in the Fantasy Guides and other magazines as guys try to see who this relatively unknown player is. I proudly claimed Russell on behalf of my fraternity brother and former softball teammate.
No one has bid against me yet, and he’s been a part of my team for three years now. The past two seasons he never got out of the minors, so he spent the year on my reserve roster.
He got his first call up earlier this year when Chicago played up in Toronto. He was with the team for the weekend series and didn’t see any action before being sent back to AAA Charlotte.
He got called up again a few weeks ago and didn’t see any action in his first few days in the big leagues.
He finally got the call in the ninth inning of a lopsided win over Pittsburgh.
He pitched a one-two-three ninth, retiring former Tribe outfielder Jason Michaels, Doug Mientkiewicz on a grounder and striking out Tony Batista on a knee-buckling curveball.
Bill said he got a call from Adam after the game, thanking his dad for all his support over the years.
Russell said it was almost surreal watching his son on the hill against the Pirates. “I felt like I was on the mound, standing right behind him,” Bill told Cleveland-area report Les Levine.
Bill went to Toronto earlier in the year when Adam got called up, and went to Chicago for the first weekend series against the Colorado Rockies and his son never got into the game.
It was at BW3 in Avon Lake where he and his wife got to see their son finally fulfill his dream. Adam played for North Olmsted High School and then pitched at Ohio University. The 6-8, 250-pound 25-year-old is making his father proud, and he just might be one of those great cricket bids for my fantasy team if he keeps blanking opponents. He threw another shutout inning against the Cubs last weekend.
