Conley made his major league debut on June 10, 2015.[citation needed]
On April 29, 2016, Conley was pulled while pitching a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers on the road with two outs in the eighth inning. The bullpen would go on to blow the no-hitter and the shutout in the ninth inning.[8]
On July 3, 2016, Conley started the Fort Bragg Game, the first time an MLB game was played at an active military base. He pitched the bottom half of the first six innings, allowing no runs scored, and was the winning pitcher.[citation needed] On August 14, 2016, he was placed on the disabled list.[citation needed]
Conley was initially a promising starter in the Marlins’ rotation shortly after his major league debut during the 2015–16 season. Conley then ran into some struggles which proved to be career-damaging, such as several injuries, inconsistent and erratic play, and overall worsening statistics, amongst other issues. He then was moved to relief pitching, with some minor success in 2018. However, his play significantly worsened (6.53 ERA in 60 2/3 innings) over the 2019 season.[9]
On August 30, 2020, Conley was designated for reassignment by the Marlins without making even a single appearance during the 2020 season.[10] He was subsequently outrighted by the Marlins to Triple-A on September 6. Due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19pandemic, this effectively ended Conley's season without him ever having thrown a single pitch.[11][12] On September 28, the Marlins released him from the organization, and he subsequently became a free agent.
On May 3, 2021, Adam's wife, Kendall Mays Conley, made a statement on behalf of the family of his release from the Rakuten Golden Eagles due to Japan's border closures because of rising cases of COVID-19. At the time, only foreign professional athletes were allowed entrance into the country, but not their immediate family members. Conley was instructed by the organization to report to Japan for Spring Training alone, with his wife and children to follow once border restrictions lifted. Conley refused to relocate to Japan or report for Spring Training without his family for any period of time. His refusal to relocate without his family, coupled with Conley's and the organization's failure to reach a compromise, subsequently led to the Golden Eagles' cancellation of the contract, and the full release of Conley from their organization.[14]
Tampa Bay Rays
On May 10, 2021, Conley signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, and was assigned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls.[15] Conley logged a 4.35 ERA in 37 appearances for Durham. On August 14, 2021, the Rays selected Conley's contract.[16] Conley would make 17 appearances out of the bullpen for Tampa Bay, posting a 2.29 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched. On November 7, 2021, Conley was designated for assignment by the Rays after René Pinto was added to the 40-man roster.[17] On November 10, Conley was released from the Rays organization.[18][19]
On November 21, 2021, Conley's impending retirement was alluded to by his spouse.[20] On March 11, 2022, Conley officially announced his retirement from professional baseball.[21]
He now works as a private "baseball instructor".[22]
Personal life
Conley was born to his mother, Katy, and father, Larry, on May 24, 1990.[23] He has an older brother, Jeremy.[24] He attended Washington State University, majoring in Criminal Justice, but did not graduate.[25] Conley met and proposed to college girlfriend Kendall Mays, a blogger,[26][27] after a very brief courtship. In Mays' own words, she says she had only known him a "short time" before they became engaged on April 4, 2011.[28] They were married on September 10, 2011, in Olympia, Washington.[29] The couple have three daughters.[30][31][32] They also are parents to an adopted[33] nephew, who was born June 22, 2013.[34] They homeschool their children,[35] are advocates of home birth and midwifery, and are against vaccination.[36][37]
^MEG WOCHNICK; Staff writer (June 8, 2011). "Marlins, friends call Conley". Theolympian.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)