Kelly Johnson (baseball)

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Kelly Johnson (baseball) bigraphy, stories - American professional baseball second baseman

Kelly Johnson (baseball) : biography

February 22, 1982 –

Kelly Andrew Johnson (born February 22, 1982) is an American professional baseball second baseman and left fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

Johnson was drafted in the 1st round (38th overall) of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft by the Atlanta Braves. Johnson made his Major League debut with the Braves on May 29, 2005 and became a regular outfielder, due to the many injuries that plagued the Braves early in the 2005 season. Johnson was named the National League Player of the Week for the week of June 13 after batting .417 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 24 at-bats.

An elbow injury sidelined Johnson for the entire 2006 season. He was placed on the disabled list during spring training after experiencing pain while making throws from the outfield, and had Tommy John surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews on June 1. During the offseason, Johnson spent many hours with Braves first base coach Glenn Hubbard at Turner Field to learn how to play second base effectively. Johnson earned the starting position at second base and as the leadoff hitter for the Braves for the 2007 season. He has exceeded all expectations as a second baseman defensively, and has proved to be one of the majors’ most productive hitters at his position. On April 8, 2007 Johnson hit the first leadoff homer of his career in a 3-2 win against the New York Mets. In late June, Johnson lost his position as the leadoff hitter in the Braves lineup. In the 48 games Johnson played in May and June, his on-base percentage was .325, well below the acceptable rate for a good leadoff hitter. Willie Harris, who took over the role as primary leadoff hitter, had an on-base percentage of .440 prior to June 22 (Johnson’s last game as the leadoff hitter), prompting Braves manager Bobby Cox to make the change. (As of August 10, Johnson had an on-base percentage of .419 since June 22.) In addition to being demoted from the top of the order, Johnson’s offensive struggles motivated Cox to move Johnson into a platoon at second base with Yunel Escobar. He capped off his year with 16 homers and a .276 batting average.

With Escobar taking over full-time at shortstop, Johnson began the year as the Braves second baseman for the season.

Johnson had the longest hitting streak in the National League of the season, hitting in 22-straight games. He hit .398 with 19 RBIs in 25 games in September. Johnson ended the season with a .287 batting average, 12 homers, 69 RBIs, 86 runs, and 11 stolen bases.

In 2009, Johnson lost his full-time starting position with the Braves. He increased his contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone, as well as swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone. This pattern is associated with a less-aggressive swing and was associated with his poor results in 2009.

On December 12, 2009, Johnson, was non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves making him a free agent.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 30, 2009, Johnson signed a one year $2.35 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona had previously shown interest in acquiring Johnson from the Braves. Johnson said this about his new team,

He received the Player of the Month award for the month of April, his first month as a player for the Diamondbacks. He earned the award by hitting nine home runs and a .750 slugging percentage. In his first 22 games, Johnson batted .313 (25-80) with 18 RBI, 17 runs scored and a .404 OBP.

On July 23, 2010 Johnson successfully hit for the cycle against the San Francisco Giants. Johnson hit a solo home run in the first, a ground-rule double in the fifth, a two-run triple in the sixth and completed it with a single in the eighth. Johnson tied the game at 1 with his home run, almost tied the game with a double but it was a ground rule so Young was held at third base, tied the game at 3 with a 2-run triple, and represented the tying run with his single.

On May 21, 2011, Johnson launched a pitch from Minnesota Twins closer Matt Capps deep into the right-field bleachers at Chase Field for a grand slam that capped the Diamondbacks rally from down 6-3 and made the score 9-6, which would be the final score.

On July 8, 2011, Johnson hit his second grand slam in the season off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse. Johnson gave the D-backs the lead in the seventh to break a tie 7-3. He hit a 2-2 pitch into the Cardinals bullpen while thinking that he only hit a sacrifice fly. The ball carried long enough to be a grand slam.

In a game versus the Dodgers on August 7, 2011, Johnson hit a 2-run home run off of Clayton Kershaw while using pitcher Juan Gutiérrez’s baseball bat.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 23, 2011, Johnson was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for second baseman Aaron Hill and shortstop John McDonald. Johnson was set to debut for the Blue Jays on August 24, but had to return to Arizona because he forgot his passport. He made his debut instead on August 25, and went 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.

In a game on May 16, 2012, against the New York Yankees, Johnson hit his 100th career home run, a solo shot in an 8-1 win.

Tampa Bay Rays

In January 2013, the Rays agreed to a one-year contract worth $2.45 million with Johnson. The contract became official on February 5, 2013.