John Vander Wal

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#EE1422
bgcolor2=#083884
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=John Vander Wal


position=Outfielder
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1966|4|29
deathdate=
debutdate=September 6
debutyear=by|1991
debutteam=Montreal Expos
finaldate=September 27
finalyear=2004
finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.261
stat2label=HR
stat2value=97
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=430
teams=
*Montreal Expos (by|1991-by|1993)
*Colorado Rockies (by|1994-by|1998)
*San Diego Padres (by|1998-by|1999)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2000-by|2001)
*San Francisco Giants (by|2001)
*New York Yankees (by|2002)
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|2003)
*Cincinnati Reds (by|2004)
highlights=

John (Henry) Vander Wal (born April 29, 1966 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a former American Major League Baseball player, a left-handed hitter who played outfield and first base for eight different teams over 14 seasons. He is considered one of the best pinch hitters in major-league history.

Early life

Vander Wal grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan, attended Western Michigan University and was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the third round of the 1987 amateur draft.

Major league career

Vander Wal made his Major League debut with the Expos on September 6, 1991, and finished his first season with 13 hits in 61 at bats for a .213 batting average.

Vander Wal played two more seasons in Montreal before moving on to the Colorado Rockies in 1994, where he would spend all of four seasons and part of another, although he never recorded more than 151 at bats or appeared in 105 games in any of those seasons. On August 31, 1998 he was traded to the San Diego Padres for a player to be named later. He went on to appear in the World Series with the Padres, recording two hits in five at bats.

Vander Wal spent 1999 in San Diego before moving on to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 2000 trade that brought Al Martin to the Padres. While playing for the Pirates, he posted his best season, appearing in 134 games, and batting .299 with 24 home runs and 94 runs batted in. In 2001, Vander Wal was traded to the San Francisco Giants, who later traded him to the New York Yankees for Jay Witasick. Vander Wal was a part-time performer for the Yankees in 2002, before moving on to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2003, and the Cincinnati Reds in 2004, where he recorded just 6 hits in 51 at bats for a .118 average.

Achievements

Vander Wal holds the modern Major League Baseball single-season record for pinch hits, with 28 in 1995 while playing for the Colorado Rockies. [cite news|work=New York Times|title=In A Pinch|date=Sept 17, 2006|page=Sports p. 2] In his career, Vander Wal contributed 129 pinch hits, which is one of the highest totals of the modern era, behind Lenny Harris' 212. Vander Wal was inducted into the Western Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

ee also

* Montreal Expos all-time roster

References

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