Ben Johnson (baseball)

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**Ben Johnson**

Free Agent — No. --
Left Fielder
Born: June 18, 1981 (1981-06-18) (age 26)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
June 26, 2005 for the San Diego Padres
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Batting average	.230
Home runs	7
Runs batted in	26
Teams
San Diego Padres (2005-2006) New York Mets (2007)

Benjamin Joseph Johnson (born June 18, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. Johnson was named the Memphis area High School Player of the Year in baseball at Germantown High School in 1999. He was also recruited to play football at Mississippi State University, but opted for baseball instead.^[1]

He was a 4th round draft pick in 1999 by the St. Louis Cardinals, and was traded the following year to the San Diego Padres, along with Heathcliff Slocumb for Carlos Hernandez and Nathan Tebbs.

He worked his way up to AAA in 2005, where he was an All-Star outfielder and the San Diego Padres Minor League Player of the Year, hitting .312 with 25 home runs. He was brought up to the majors that year and received limited playing time with the Padres, hitting .213 in 75 at-bats, and .250 with 4 home runs in 120 at-bats in 2006.

He was not selected for San Diego's 2006 playoff roster, and after the season ended he was traded to the New York Mets with relief pitcher Jon Adkins in exchange for relievers Heath Bell and Royce Ring.

Since joining the Mets, Johnson has been shuttled up and down between New York and AAA New Orleans. During June, he received some playing time when all three Mets regular outfielders (Shawn Green, Carlos Beltran, and Moises Alou) were injured.

Johnson was not offered a new contract by the Mets and became a free agent on December 12, 2007. However, the Mets brought Johnson back by signing him to a Minor League deal on February 14, 2008, and invited him to spring training. Johnson was released by the Mets in early May 2008.