John Lannan
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John Edward Lannan (born September 27, 1984) is an American former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
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, ...
who currently serves as the Major League mental performance coach for the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
. He played in
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 ...
(MLB) for the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
and
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. Lannan made his MLB debut with the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
in 2007 against the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
; he was ejected from his first MLB game. He pitched with the Nationals for six seasons through 2012 and was the opening day starter in 2009 and 2010. He was relegated out of the rotation in 2012, and was eventually non-tendered making him a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
. In December 2012, he signed with the division rival Phillies, with whom he was the fifth starter during the 2013 season. He played with the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
in 2014.


Early life

Lannan was born in
Long Beach, New York Long Beach is an oceanfront city in Nassau County, New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the 2020 ...
. Following his time as captain of the baseball team at Chaminade High School in
Mineola, New York Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 20,800 at the time of the 2020 United Stat ...
, Lannan pitched for the Siena Saints of
Siena College Siena College is a Private college, private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York, United States. It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. The college enrolls approxi ...
. He was selected by the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
in the 11th round (324th overall) of the 2005
Major League Baseball draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...
.


Minor leagues

He pitched for the low Single-A Vermont Expos in 2005 and the Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats in 2006, compiling earned run averages of 5.26 and 4.76 respectively. In 2007, however, he blazed through the minors. He began the year for the high-A
Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were situated in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to ...
going 6–0 with an earned run average of 2.13 and was promoted to the Double-A
Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
. He went 3–2 with a 3.25 earned run average and got promoted to Triple-A Columbus, where he started six games, and went 3–1 with a 1.75 earned run average. In July 2007, he was called up to the MLB team following his impressive numbers.


MLB career


Washington Nationals

The Nationals, decimated by injuries to their starting pitchers, purchased his contract on July 26, 2007, for Lannan to start against the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. In his debut, behind 3–2 with one out in the fifth inning, Lannan hit Chase Utley with a fastball (breaking Utley's hand) and then hit Ryan Howard on the next pitch, whereupon umpire Hunter Wendelstedt immediately ejected Lannan from the game; Lannan was the first Major Leaguer since
Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American professional baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2009. As ...
in 1997 to be tossed from his debut. The next would be former Astros pitcher Kyle Weiland who was ejected in his debut with the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
in 2011. Lannan picked up his first Major League win, in his second start, six days later, in which he held the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
hitless through three and scoreless through five inning before allowing two runs in the sixth. On August 6, 2007, in just his third major league start, found himself on the national stage as he faced the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
at AT&T Park in
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
's first start after tying
Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...
's Major League Baseball's home run record. The 22-year-old Lannan held Bonds to no hits; in four plate appearances Bonds fouled out to third, walked, grounded into a double play, and, as Lannan's last batter, struck out on a 3–2 curveball with two out and one on in the seventh. Lannan finished with seven innings of one-run ball pitched, although the Nats went on to lose 3–2 in 11 innings. He ended the year with a 2–2 record and an earned run average of 4.15 in six starts, becoming one of the Nationals best starters. Over the next two years, he pitched more than 385 total innings with an earned run average under 3.90. Only 22 other pitchers did that, earning him the starter position for opening day in 2009 and 2010. Lannan threw his first complete game on June 6, 2009, a 7–1 win over the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
, and a month and a half later threw his first complete game shutout on July 21, 2009, a 4–0 shutout of the Mets. The 2009 season saw Lannan pitch to a 3.88 earned run average with a 9–13 record and 89 strikeouts through 206.1 innings. His 2010 season started off poorly, allowing seven hits, three walks, and five runs in only 3 innings against the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
on Opening Day. After a stretch of two weeks in June, where in three games, he compiled a 10.38 earned run average while allowing 38 base runners in 13 innings, on June 21, 2010, Lannan was optioned to the class AA
Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...
. He was sent to AA rather than AAA because he had previously worked well with Harrisburg pitching coach Randy Tomlin. He had gone 2–5 with a 5.76 earned run average in 14 start before being sent down. In the minors, he compiled a 4.20 earned run average in 7 games started with 28 strikeouts and a 1–4 record. The Nationals later recalled Lannan in August to take the place of the injured
Stephen Strasburg Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire 13-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Washington Nationals. He is a three-time Major League Baseball All-Star G ...
(who later had
Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...
). He finished the season with a total of 143.1 IP, an 8–8 record, a 4.65 earned run average, and 71 strikeouts in 25 games started. On July 22, 2011, Lannan hit his first career home run off Hiroki Kuroda of the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. It was a two-run home run, giving the Nationals a 3–0 lead, en route to a 7–2 win at
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...
. The southpaw pitched to a 3.70 earned run average in 33 starts ( innings pitched) plus 106 strikeouts, and a 10–13 record. Lannan failed to earn a spot in the Nationals' 2012 starting rotation, losing the competition for the fifth slot to Ross Detwiler, and was optioned to AAA Syracuse to start the season. Lannan requested a trade to depart from the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
. He was called up to the Nationals on July 21 to start against the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
. Lannan made a minor change in his mechanics in AAA, resulting in a sharper downward angle on his throwing motion. The tweak appeared to have a positive effect, as Lannan's last two starts in the minors were complete-game shutouts. Lannan was called up again as part of the Nationals' 2012 September call-ups, filling the starting rotation job of
Stephen Strasburg Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire 13-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Washington Nationals. He is a three-time Major League Baseball All-Star G ...
after Strasburg was shut down in early September. From September 12 through October 1, Lannan accrued a 4.58 earned run average in 19 innings over four starts, striking out 10 batters and allowing 24 hits, 7 bases on balls and 10 earned runs. He did not pitch in the 2012 postseason. At AAA, he tossed three complete games (two shutouts) over 24 starts with a 9–11 record, 86 strikeouts, and a 4.30 earned run average. In total, he started just six games ( innings pitched) for Washington, resulting in a 4–1 record in addition to 17 strikeouts and a 4.13 earned run average. On November 30, 2012, Lannan was non-tendered by the Nationals, making him an unrestricted free-agent.


Philadelphia Phillies

On December 18, 2012, Lannan signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies that included up to an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses. Lannan initially was hesitant to sign with the Phillies, but after chatting with former Nationals' teammate Laynce Nix, who was with the Phillies, he was excited to sign. Phillies
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Rubén Amaro, Jr. commented, Lannan was happy to sign with a northeast team due to their hard-nosed mentality, but previously, he had a "unique" history with the Phillies including being ejected in his major league debut, which he made at
Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Home to Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, the stadium opened April 3, 2004. It is named after Citizens Financi ...
, during which he hit Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in consecutive at bats. In starts against the Phillies after that incident, he had a career record of 3 wins, 13 losses and a 5.53
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
. He made the Phillies rotation out of
spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
as the fifth starter, and pitched reliably for the Phillies including one stretch in July during which he allowed only one earned run in 16 innings pitched. During his 14th start of the season, Lannan exited in the second inning with a left knee injury. Later, he was placed on the 15-day
disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...
due to tendinosis in his left knee. At that point in the season, he had a three win, six loss season with an earned run average of 5.33. On August 20, 2013, the Phillies announced that Lannan would miss the remainder of the season with what their assistant general manager Scott Proefrock called a "ruptured tendon", which the team physician said would require surgery. In October 2013, the Phillies outrighted Lannan, which he refused, making him a free agent.


New York Mets

On January 18, 2014, the Mets signed Lannan to a minor league contract, with an invitation to major league spring training. Out of camp, he earned a job in the bullpen. However, he was subsequently outrighted off the roster when
Daisuke Matsuzaka is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, who pitched professionally for 23 seasons, 16 of them in NPB, 7 in MLB. He is currently a baseball color commentator, critic, Sports journalism, reporter, and YouTuber. Daisuke is nicknamed i ...
was called up from the minor leagues. Lannan elected free agency in October 2014.


Colorado Rockies

On November 18, 2014, 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 ...
signed Lannan to a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training.


Kansas City Royals

On December 14, 2015, Lannan signed a minor league contract with the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
. He made 25 appearances (19 starts) for the Triple–A
Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...
in 2016, compiling a 7–8 record and 5.24 ERA with 55 strikeouts across innings pitched. Lannan elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016.


Washington Nationals (second stint)

On February 27, 2017, Lannan signed a minor league deal with the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
. He was released on June 8.


Long Island Ducks

On June 19, 2017, Lannan signed with the Long Island Ducks of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...
. He announced his retirement on August 13, 2017.


Coaching career

On March 8, 2021, Lannan was announced as the mental performance coach for the
Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
, the Triple-A affiliate of the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
. On January 12, 2024, Lannan was promoted to the major league coaching staff when he was announced as the Major League mental performance coach for the team.


Pitching style

Lannan threw five pitches, the primary one being a two-seam fastball at 89–91 mph. He also threw a
four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...
(88–91), a slider (79–83), a curveball (74–77), and a changeup (84–88). His repertoire against left-handed hitters consisted mostly of fastballs and sliders, while he added the changeup against right-handers. He relied most heavily on his slider in two-strike counts.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lannan, John 1984 births Living people Washington Nationals players Philadelphia Phillies players New York Mets players Siena Saints baseball players Vermont Expos players Savannah Sand Gnats players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Columbus Clippers players Syracuse Chiefs players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Fightin Phils players Chaminade High School alumni Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Nassau County, New York St. Lucie Mets players Las Vegas 51s players Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Long Island Ducks players Sportspeople from Long Beach, New York