William Russell Johnson (born February 22, 1973) is a former
Major League Baseball infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
. He prepped at
Denham Springs High School then went to
Louisiana State University. He was drafted in the first round of the
1994 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation picks
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
*Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not ...
by the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
. In , he was called up to the majors by the Astros, where he remained until . His best season in Houston was , when he
hit .282 with four
home runs and 33
RBI
RBI most often refers to:
*Reserve Bank of India
*Run batted in
RBI may also refer to:
Organisations
*Radio Berlin International
*Raiffeisen Bank International
*Reed Business Information
*Restaurant Brands International
*Ruđer Bošković In ...
.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
In the middle of the 2000 season, Johnson was traded to the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays for
reliever Marc Valdes
Marc Christopher Valdes (born December 20, 1971) is a former American professional baseball pitcher and current pitching coach for the St. Lucie Mets. He played for the Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves of Major ...
. He moved around several times during the next few years. With minor leaguer Josh Pressley, he was supplied by the Devil Rays in to the
New York Mets as a
PTBNL
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
in a deal for
Rey Ordóñez. He spent and in the minor leagues with the Mets' and Cubs' Triple-A teams respectively.
Return to Majors
He reached the majors again in , when he signed as a
free agent with the
New York Yankees. He spent the year coming in off the bench as a
first baseman,
third baseman,
pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...
,
designated hitter, or
outfielder. This made him the second "William Russell Johnson" to play for the Yankees. (
Billy Johnson, who has the same first, middle, and last name, but is no relation, played for New York in the 1940s.)
In , he played for the Yankees Triple-A team, and led the
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
in
walk percentage (14.8%).
Fangraphs stats
/ref> He spent in the Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
organization, where he hit a combined .261 in 106 games split between Double-A and Triple-A.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Russ
1973 births
Living people
Denham Springs High School alumni
Baseball players from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Houston Astros players
Tampa Bay Devil Rays players
New York Yankees players
Major League Baseball third basemen
LSU Tigers baseball players
Jackson Generals (Texas League) players
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Orlando Rays players
Durham Bulls players
Norfolk Tides players
Iowa Cubs players
Columbus Clippers players
Altoona Curve players
Indianapolis Indians players
Baseball players from Shreveport, Louisiana