Thursday, October 24, 2013

#94 Lance Johnson

About the Front: Lance Johnson looks a lot tinier than I remember. At 5'10", he's not especially short, but he is a pretty slight 160 pounds. I suppose that it's all relative; these guys were bigger when I was in grade school.

About the Back: Johnson went on a good triples run, leading the league every season from 1991 through 1996 with the exception of 1995, when Kenny Lofton beat him out 13-12. For his career, One Dog had 117 triples and just 34 home runs. That's a rare ratio these days.

Triple Play:

1. In 1993, Lance did not hit a home run in 579 regular-season plate appearances. In Game 4 of that year's ALCS, he launched a two-run homer against Toronto's Todd Stottlemyre. That made him the first player in MLB history to go deep in a postseason game after being shut out in the regular season.

2. His lone All-Star selection came with the Mets in 1996, when he achieved career highs across the board: .333/.362/.479, 117 runs, 227 hits (led league), 31 doubles, 21 triples (led league), 69 RBI, and 50 steals. He is still the only player in MLB history to lead both major leagues in hits, as he topped the American League with 186 in 1995.

3. During his playing career, Lance owned One Dog Records, a label that produced rap albums.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: One thing that always stood out about Lance Johnson was his immaculately-trimmed goatee.

Bill James Said: "Had the highest ground ball/fly ball ratio in the American League (265-110)." It doesn't hurt to hit it on the ground when you've got wheels.

On This Date in 1993: October 24. What the heck. How about another Calvin and Hobbes strip?

No comments:

Post a Comment