Johnathan Keith Gainer (born October 8, 1966) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who appeared in 23 games for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

in its 1993 season. He is an alumnus of the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

Career

A member of the inaugural Rockies team, Gainer was previously selected by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in the 24th round of the 1990 MLB Draft. He then was sent by San Diego to Colorado in exchange for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Denis Boucher in March 1993. Gainer would make his

debut with the Rockies on May 14, 1993 as their starting first baseman and wore #37. At this time, Gainer became one of 22 players in Major League history to homer on the first pitch of their first Major League at bat. Afterwards, Gainer appeared in his final game on October 2 of that year as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

for

Lance Painter Lance Telford Painter (born July 21, 1967) is an English former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers. Although ...

. Besides, Gainer saw action in the Mexican and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

leagues. Overall, he hit .275 with 121 home runs and 484 RBI in 11 minor league seasons spanning 1990–2001. After retiring, he served as a hitting coach for the

Visalia Oaks Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183 ...

External links

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Baseball Reference (minors)
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Baseball Almanac
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1966 births Living people Allentown Ambassadors players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Florida Cafeteros de Córdoba players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Grosseto Baseball Club players American expatriate baseball players in Italy High Desert Mavericks players Olmecas de Tabasco players Sportspeople from Panama City, Florida Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball replacement players Mexican League baseball first basemen South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Spokane Indians players Wichita Wranglers players {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub