The New York Mets add another catcher to their 60-man by signing 29-year old Bruce Maxwell. He is most known for being the first Major League Baseball player to take a knee during the national anthem. The combination of hitting struggles and blackballing for kneeling kept him out of baseball for the past couple of seasons.
Every player and coach on the Yankees & Nationals took a knee before the national anthem tonight in D.C.
(via @MarkZuckerman)pic.twitter.com/PrPKv4Gs1Z
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 23, 2020
He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Oakland Athletics but only hit .240 over 127 games. The A’s designated him for assignment in September 2018 and became a free agent for the offseason. Maxwell also just completed two years of probation and community service for disorderly conduct from an October 2017 arrest.
Mexican League Revival
Maxwell could not land a job in the U.S. but went to the Mexican League and delivered a terrific season. He slashed .325/.407/.559 with 24 home runs and 112 RBIs in 109 games. Maxwell’s home run total was more than double any amount he put up in any professional season. The production was enough for the Mets to allow him to join their player pool, pending a physical and negative COVID test.
The topic of kneeling during the anthem is widely discussed and controversial. There are certain groups of people who don’t want him signed by any organization, those who see him as a leader and those who just see him as another baseball player fighting his way back to the big leagues. Maxwell will need a combination of poor play and injuries to work his way up the Mets catching pyramid.