Editor's note: This is the second installment in a seven-part series taking a closer look at former Ohio baseball players competing in the minor leagues of Major League Baseball.
Adam Fox has a wife, a baby on the way and a professional baseball contract, but the 24-year-old former Ohio third baseman has never forgotten what it means to be a kid.
Drafted 286th overall by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round of the 2003 draft, Fox has already become not only a fan favorite as a Frisco RoughRider but also a front office favorite as well.
Brent Stehlik, the chief operating officer of the Double-A Texas League team, said the 6-foot, 195-pound Fox is a huge contributor on and off the field.
He's a guy who hustles every play and his jersey will be dirty after every game
Stehlik said. He's also someone who loves to take time and sign autographs for fans pre- and post-game. That's something that never shows up in the box score but is extremely important to the fan.
Though he still had a year of eligibility remaining when he was drafted, the two-time first-team All Mid-American Conference selection left the Bobcats with a .368 career batting average, the second-highest number of home runs, 38, and the third-highest number of RBIs, 171, in program history. Ohio coach Joe Carbone said he knew Fox was both emotionally and physically ready to move on.
I told the team many times they never walked out to the field where Adam hadn't already taken 100 or 200 cuts with a wood bat before we were going to go take our 300 cuts during practice
Carbone said. I also said
'Adam
if you want to go to the next level
you need to work harder on your running
' and he would be out there doing sprints before practice to improve his running speed.
He was just like a sponge; he would just try to soak up everything he could about baseball, hitting, defense, how to play the game. He was very, very coachable. He would listen to anything you'd say and wasn't a baby about it. I've talked to some pro people with the Rangers, and they love him. They love his personality; they love his work ethic.
With a .269 batting average and one home run and five RBIs this year with Frisco
Fox is also known for his tremendous defensive play and work ethic
and he said that his ultimate goal going into college was to play at the next level.
I was thinking about going pro out of high school, he said
but I fell in love with (Ohio University). It's like a diamond in the rough down there. But in professional baseball, you have more pull in negotiations (to get drafted) as a junior. I wanted to play college baseball, but I really wanted to play pro ball.
Earlier this month
