Michael Charles Johnston (born March 30, 1979) is a former baseball player. In 2004, Johnston made the Pirates team out of spring training despite never previously pitching above the AA level. By doing so, Johnston became the second known person with

Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome (TS), or simply Tourette's, is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinkin ...

to play in Major League Baseball, after

Jim Eisenreich James Michael Eisenreich ( ; born April 18, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball player with a 15-year career from 1982 to 1984 and 1987 to 1998. He played for the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals of the American League, and th ...

. In October 2006, Johnston underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum. That November, he signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. The Chicago White Sox signed him to a minor league contract for the 2009 season. In 2012, he pitched for the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Stormers (formerly known as the Lancaster Barnstormers) is an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner l ...

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 ...

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Johnston cut in spring training, 2006
1979 births Living people Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Philadelphia Gulf Coast Pirates players Erie SeaWolves players Williamsport Crosscutters players Hickory Crawdads players Lynchburg Hillcats players Altoona Curve players Nashville Sounds players Indianapolis Indians players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Lancaster Barnstormers players People with Tourette syndrome Baseball players with disabilities 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub