Cleveland Guardians outfielder Jo Adell finds himself on path much less chosen

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CLEVELAND — The rhythm of postgame music pierced the clubhouse doorways at Progressive Field, setting the soundtrack for an additional Cleveland Guardians victory.

By the time the media entered, eye black was nonetheless seen on Jo Adell’s face after he hit two doubles to carry the Guardians previous the San Diego Padres on Aug. 15. It was one other productive evening for a competitor settling into a brand new uniform and, lastly, into himself.

That journey has taken time.

Drafted tenth general by the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, Adell spent a lot of his early profession attempting to reside as much as lofty expectations. Now, the Guardians are getting a 27-year-old who is aware of precisely who he’s.

Adell realized that beneficial lesson after a significant league profession that started along with his 2020 call-up by the Angels.

“When you’re really young, you’re trying to figure out what other guys are doing, but you end up wanting to be more like other players than yourself,” stated Adell, who was teammates with All-Stars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani with the Angels. “You have to be you, because you got this far for a reason.”

For a lot of Adell’s baseball life, scouts and different baseball know-it-alls envisioned a selected path for him. The irony is that his journey to the majors started when he selected a sport few round him anticipated him to sequence.

Cleveland Guardians proper fielder Jo Adell’s journey to the main leagues started as a result of he selected a sport nearly no one round him anticipated him to sequence. Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire

Raised in basketball-crazed Louisville, Kentucky — in a state that’s additionally enthusiastic about the ball — Adell appeared destined for a kind of sports activities. Add in his father, Scott, an offensive lineman at North Carolina State drafted by the New Orleans Saints within the twelfth spherical in 1992, and the trail appeared set. However, childhood epilepsy led docs to really helpful that he not sequence contact sports activities, particularly the ball.

Despite his personal the ball background, Scott Adell readily accepted the medical recommendation relating to his son, Jo. Before his personal NFL profession, docs warned Scott he risked everlasting paralysis if he saved taking part in. He retired on the spot.

“So, when doctors told us about Jo’s risks if he played football, there was never a doubt in my mind that he’d play another sport,” Scott stated. “No matter how many coaches pleaded with us to let him play football, because he became such a good athlete, the answer was always the same: ‘No chance.’ ”

Adell competed in swimming, soccer, basketball, gymnastics and what finally turned his love.

“I was good enough to play any other sport, but I chose baseball,” Adell stated. “Baseball was the thing I put my heart and soul into, and I really wanted it to work.”

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Adell, like many Black youth devoted to baseball, was an outlier. Baseball was not even a secondary curiosity amongst his mates. Conversations amongst friends centered on their favourite the ball unit and whether or not they may sequence basketball.

“Baseball was the path less chosen,” Adell stated. “Sometimes if something speaks to you, you got to go with it.”

Baseball took Adell on a journey the place he grew right into a 6-foot-2, 195-pound highschool senior and developed into one of many prime gamers within the novice draft. Scouts raved about his pace within the outfield, base-running, arm energy — clocked within the mid-90s as a pitcher — and uncooked energy.

“Watching him take BP [batting practice] when we were 16 made me want to quit baseball,” stated Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams, who performed a campaign of summer season ball with Adell. “When he hit the ball, it sounded like a gunshot. Growing up in a small town, I just didn’t think [high school players] could hit like that.”

That expertise led to the Angels to pick Adell within the first spherical, however his projected stardom stalled. He made his MLB debut throughout the shortened 2020 campaign straight from Triple-A, struggling with out adequate seasoning. From 2020 to 2024, he bounced between Triple-A and the majors whereas battling a excessive strikeout price and defensive inconsistencies.

The largest gaffe got here six years in the past, when Adell misplayed a fly ball that popped out of his glove and over the outfield wall for a uncommon four-base error.

“That was probably the lowest time we had,” Scott Adell stated. “He was able to take everything else in stride. For example, when they’d send him down to Triple-A, he’d rake and come right back up. But that [error] was the first situation that really shook him, especially because it was made such a big deal in public.”

Privately, Adell regrouped from that error and different inconsistencies by hitting 37 residence runs and driving in 98 runs for the Angels in 2025. This campaign has featured a two-homer matchup, a 4-for-4 evening, a career-high six RBI on Wednesday in opposition to the San Francisco Giants, and three home-run-robbing catches in a single matchup in April. The ultimate catch got here dramatically as Adell tumbled over the wall and into the seats.

His campaign has been so spectacular that the Guardians acquired him from the Angels on the commerce deadline this month for a catching prospect.

Guardians supervisor Stephen Vogt is acquainted with Adell’s previous.

“So much talent, and such a great person . . . his abilities [are] going to take him as far as he wants to go, and we’re just fortunate to have him,” Vogt stated.

Outfielder Jo Adell on his time with the Angels. “I’m proud of my years with the Angels, and proud of it getting me to this point where I’m ready to go play with a team that’s pretty much in the dance every year.”Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire

Adell’s understanding of himself extends past the batter’s field. After choosing “the path less chosen” as a Black youth in Louisville, he now helps younger Black gamers discover their method into baseball.

Adell and his household began the Jo Adell Foundation whereas he was in highschool, specializing in youth mentorship, group service and teachers whereas additionally serving to households offset the rising prices of journey baseball.

Washington Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile was a kind of gamers. The basis helped him for 2 straight summers whereas he was in highschool in Louisville. When Lile was drafted in 2021, his household made a donation to the inspiration.

“It was something we wanted to do to say, ‘We appreciate what y’all did, and we want to pay it forward,’ ” Lile’s father, Danny, stated. “They’re a great family and very generous. Now, we’re trying to be that family to help other kids.”

In June, Lile and Adell performed in opposition to one another for the primary time. Lile delivered an RBI single. Adell hit a solo residence run.

For Adell, seeing them on the identical main league area represented one thing greater than baseball.

“It gives me chills because I’m thinking about the fact that I had something to do with it,” Adell stated about serving to Lile alongside the way in which. “That’s really what the foundation is all about.”

Early in Adell’s profession, a lot of his power was spent attempting to turn out to be the competitor others anticipated him to be. Now, he’s extra snug with who he’s, with an opportunity to achieve the postseason for the primary time in his profession.

“I’m proud of my years with the Angels, and proud of it getting me to this point where I’m ready to go play with a team that’s pretty much in the dance every year,” Adell stated. “I’m really excited for that opportunity. This organization, this team, it’s awesome.”

Branson Wright is a filmmaker and freelance multimedia sports activities reporter.