Lance Johnson

Infobox MLB retired
name=Lance Johnson


position=Outfielder
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1963|7|6
city-state|Cincinnati|Ohio
debutdate=July 10
debutyear=by|1987
debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
finaldate=May 27
finalyear=by|2000
finalteam=New York Yankees
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.291
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=1,565
stat3label=Stolen bases
stat3value=327
teams=
* St. Louis Cardinals (by|1987)
* Chicago White Sox (by|1988-by|1995)
* New York Mets (by|1996-by|1997)
* Chicago Cubs (by|1997-by|1999)
* New York Yankees (by|2000)
highlights=
* All-Star selection (1996)
* World Series champion (2000)

Kenneth Lance Johnson (born July 6 1963 in Cincinnati, Ohio) was a Major League Baseball player. At the age of 24, Johnson broke into the big leagues on July 10 1987, with the St. Louis Cardinals after being drafted by them in the 6th round of the 1984 amateur draft. In 1987 Johnson, playing for the Louisville Redbirds, was the American Association Most Valuable Player. From 1988-95 Johnson played for the Chicago White Sox.

From 1991 through 1994, Johnson led the American League in triples, becoming the first player in Major League history to lead their league in triples for four consecutive years. In 1996, he led the National League in triples, becoming only the third player in history to lead both Major Leagues in triples (Sam Crawford and Brett Butler being the first two).

As of 2005, he is one of only four players (Sam Crawford, Stan Musial, and Willie Wilson) to lead a Major League in triples as many as five times.

His finest season came in 1996 with the New York Mets. That year, he accumulated 227 hits, 21 triples (the highest single season total in that stat since 1951), and a .333 batting average, all career highs. Thus, Johnson became one of only a handful of players to hit 20 triples in a season since the Major Leagues integrated in 1947 (Willie Mays in by|1957, George Brett in by|1979, Willie Wilson in by|1985, Cristian Guzman in by|2000, and Curtis Granderson in by|2007).

After the Mets, he played with the Chicago Cubs from 1997-1999. He was slowed down by injuries during his years with the Cubs and in 2000, he finally ended his career with the New York Yankees by winning a World Series ring with them.

His speed on the base paths, and his uniform number "1", earned him the endearing nickname "One Dog". "One Dog" is also the name of the record company he had during his MLB career. Fact|date=February 2007

After graduating from Princeton High School, Johnson completed his education at the University of South Alabama. He now resides in Alabama with his wife.

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball triples champions
* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball triples records
* Chicago White Sox all-time roster

External links

*baseball-reference|id=j/johnsla03