John Gall (baseball)

Infobox MLB player


width = 150px
name = John Gall
team = Florida Marlins
number = 31
position = Outfielder
birthdate = birth date and age|1978|4|2
birthplace = city-state|Stanford|California
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = July 26
debutyear = 2005
debutteam = St. Louis Cardinals
statyear = 2007
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .245
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 2
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 11
teams =
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2005-by|2006)
*Florida Marlins (by|2007)

John Christopher Gall (born April 2, 1978, in city-state|Stanford|California) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Florida Marlins. He bats and throws right-handed.

Gall was a successful collegiate player for Stanford University, making his NCAA debut as a sophomore in 1998, a year in which he had a team-leading .381 batting average and 63 RBI, with 15 home runs, second only to current Major League Baseball player Jody Gerut on the team. After his excellent junior year in 1999, Gall was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 50th round of the June amateur draft. However, Gall elected to return to college for his senior year, and was eventually selected by the Cardinals in the 11th round of the by|2000 draft.

After a number of seasons at Single-A ball, Gall played the by|2002 season for the New Haven Ravens, the Double-A affiliate of the Cardinals at the time. Here he hit 20 home runs and 81 RBI with a .316 batting average. In by|2003, Gall spent his first season with Memphis, and collected 16 home runs and 73 RBI with a .312 average, numbers which were improved in by|2004, as he added six home runs and eleven RBI to his 2003 totals.

On July 26, after a promising start to the by|2005 season in Memphis, Gall was promoted for the first time to the major league roster, to replace Larry Walker, who was on the disabled list. In his debut against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park, Gall proceeded to hit 2-for-4 with a double. He was sent back down to Memphis eight games later on August 9 having collected four hits, two doubles, and two RBI in his first stint as a major-leaguer. On July 17, by|2006, the Cardinals released Gall and he signed with the Lotte Giants in Korea. He signed with the Florida Marlins on January 4, by|2007. Gall spent nearly the entire year with the Marlins Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, appearing in only 3 games for the Marlins.

Gall was named to the United States national baseball team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

During his time with the Cardinals, Gall became an Internet fan favorite, often referred to as "The Gall". His abilities and potential were greatly exaggerated, and phrases such as "being Galled" were used. Gall was not amused when he heard of his Internet popularity. Also, during his career at Lotte Giants, he was made a mockery as "Jot Gall"(Korean : 좆갈)" (which means "Penis Gall", as the word "jot" means "penis" in korean slang) for his poor ability. In 2008 Olyimpics in beijing, he was once again mocked by Korean fans as "The True Busan Citizen" for his mistake.

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7440 ESPN.com Player Page] - "Career statistics and analysis"