Wallace Johnson (baseball)
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| Wallace Johnson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First baseman | |||
| Born: December 25, 1956 Gary, Indiana |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 8, 1981, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| August 3, 1990, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .255 | ||
| Home runs | 5 | ||
| Runs batted in | 59 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Wallace Darnell Johnson (born December 25, 1956 in Gary, Indiana), is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He was a first baseman with the Montreal Expos and San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox third base coach and is also known for his skill as a pinch hitter. Johnson was a switch hitter and threw right-handed.
After graduating from Indiana State University Wallace was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the sixth round of the 1979 amateur draft. He began his professional career in the New York-Penn League that summer; by the next season (1980) he was leading the Florida State League in batting (.334) and stolen bases (58)[1] He made his major league debut for the Expos in September 1981 and played most of his career in Montreal. He spent part of 1983 with the Giants, having been traded to them on May 25 in exchange for outfielder Mike Vail. The next spring, the Giants released him, and he returned to the Expos as a free agent shortly thereafter.
On May 2, 1988, Johnson broke up the perfect game bid of Ron Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds. Johnson getting a single with two outs in the 9th inning.
Johnson led the major leagues in pinch-hits during the period 1987-1990. On August 11, 1990 he was released by the Montreal Expos again and signed with the Oakland Athletics, but he did not appear in any games for the A's. He played his final major league game on August 3, 1990.
He spent three years (1995-1997) coaching in the Atlanta Braves minor league system and five years as the third base coach with the Chicago White Sox but was fired after the 2002 season. During his time as third base coach of the White Sox, Hawk Haarrelson gave him the nickname "Wavin Wally".
Johnson's was an acclaimed pinch-hitter. His pinch-hit two-run triple off Mets closer Neil Allen locked up the lone postseason appearance for the Expos on the second to last day of the 1981 season. He was the Expos all-time pinch-hit leader with 86.
References
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=bU2nCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=wallace+johnson+baseball+player+montreal+expos&source=bl&ots=MImrsQz6e5&sig=KZF1py4BTGB5Gtylxx4wEuhZ7oY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBTgKahUKEwior-nNk7HIAhXFjw0KHU49BRk#v=onepage&q=wallace%20johnson%20baseball%20player%20montreal%20expos&f=false
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Pages using baseballstats with unknown parameters
- 1956 births
- Living people
- African-American baseball players
- Indiana State Sycamores baseball players
- Major League Baseball first basemen
- Baseball players from Indiana
- Montreal Expos players
- San Francisco Giants players
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana
- Chicago White Sox coaches
- Major League Baseball third base coaches
