Russell played his entire 18-year, 2,181-game career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the starting shortstop for four National League pennant winners and one World Series championship team.

A right-handed batter and thrower, Russell was selected in the ninth round of the 1966 MLB Draft out of Pittsburg (Kansas) High School and debuted with the Dodgers in 1969 as a 20-year-old outfielder.

During the 1972 season, with Wills mired in a slump, Russell got the start at shortstop on April 29 and held onto the position for the next eleven years.

Russell was hit in the hand with a pitch in September 1980 by Mike LaCoss of the Cincinnati Reds, shattering his right forefinger.

In 1992–93, he piloted the Dodgers' Triple-A farm club, the Albuquerque Dukes of the Pacific Coast League, but posted losing records each season.

Russell finished the 1996 season, compiling a record of 49–37 and bringing the Dodgers home in second place, earning the NL wild card spot in the playoffs before being swept in three games by the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series.

His departure from the Dodgers followed the new ownership's decision to trade Mike Piazza along with third baseman Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins.