Kenneth Lance Johnson (born July 6, 1963) is an American former professional baseball

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

Career

Johnson was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. After graduating from Princeton High School, he completed his education at 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 ...

. The

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

drafted him in 6th round of the 1984 amateur draft. In 1986, he led the Class AA

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

with 82 runs, 129

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, 6

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, and a league-leading 49

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s. At the age of 24, Johnson broke into the big leagues on July 10, 1987. Johnson, playing for the

Louisville Redbirds Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, was the 1987 American Association Most Valuable Player. From 1988 to 1995 Johnson played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. Johnson is the only player in the history of Major League Baseball to lead both the American League and the National League in hits, and he did it in back-to-back seasons. He led the American League in hits in 1995 for the White Sox, and he led the National League in hits in 1996 for the Mets. From 1991 through 1994, Johnson led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

in triples, becoming the first player in Major League history to lead his league in triples for four consecutive years. In 1996, he led the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in triples, becoming the third player in history to lead both leagues in triples (

Sam Crawford Samuel Earl Crawford (April 18, 1880 – June 15, 1968), nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a sh ...

and Brett Butler being the first two). Johnson is also one of three major leaguers (the other two are Joe Carter and Steve Sax) to lead both leagues in at bats two consecutive years (with the Chicago White Sox in 1995 and with the New York Mets in 1996), making him the only major leaguer to lead both leagues in at bats, hits and triples. As of 2013, he is one of only four players (Crawford,

Stan Musial Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent ...

, and Willie Wilson) to lead the league in triples as many as five times. He is also one of a handful of players to collect three triples in one game, doing so on September 23, 1995, in the White Sox' 14–4 victory over the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The three triples were part of a 6-for-6 performance for Johnson, who became the first White Sox to collect six hits in one game since Floyd Robinson in 1962. 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 category since 1985), 50 steals, 31 doubles (the only season in which he accumulated at least 20), 69 Runs Batted In, 117 runs scored, and a .333 batting average, all career highs. This was Johnson's only season in which he was selected for the All Star team. After the Mets, he played with the

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

from 1997 to 1999. He was slowed down by injuries during his years with the Cubs and in 2000. The Yankees won the World Series that year and Johnson was given a World Series ring for his service to the team. In 1447 games over 14 seasons, Johnson posted a .291

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(1565-for-5379) with 767 runs, 175 doubles, 117

, 34

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, 486 RBI, 327

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

, 352

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, .334

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and .386

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. He finished his career with a .983

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

playing at all three outfield positions. In 11 postseason games, Johnson hit .200 (7-for-35) with 3 runs, 1 home run, 7 RBI and 3 stolen bases. His speed on the base paths, and his uniform number "1", earned him the endearing nickname "One Dog". He now resides in Alabama with his wife and his three children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Lance 1963 births Living people African-American baseball players American Association (1902–1997) MVP Award winners American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Cincinnati Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Erie Cardinals players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball center fielders Nashua Pride players National League All-Stars Newark Bears players New York Mets players New York Yankees players South Alabama Jaguars baseball players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Triton Trojans baseball players Vancouver Canadians players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen

Career

See also

References

External links