John Lindsey
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John William Lindsey (born January 30, 1977 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is a first baseman in Minor League Baseball who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A affiliate the Las Vegas 51s.
A football and baseball star in high school in Hattiesburg[1], Lindsey was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 13th round of the 1995 draft. He played in the Rockies farm system from 1995-2001 with stops in Portland, Asheville and Salem, never rising above class "A" Ball. In 2002, seeking a fresh start, he signed with the Seattle Mariners and played for the "A" ball San Bernardino Stampede and the "AA" San Antonio Missions from 2002-2004. His best season was in 2002 with San Bernardino when he hit .297 with 22 home runs and 93 runs batted in. Never able to move past "AA" ball and frustrated by a brief stint with the Florida Marlins "A" ball team in Jupiter Hammerheads in 2005, he signed with the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League.[2] He played well with New Jersey, hitting .311 with 10 homers in 69 games in 2006 before being sidelined by a leg injury during a home plate collision [3].
Ready to call it a career after the 2006 season, he went back home to Mississippi, enrolled at Pearl River Junior College and was preparing for life after baseball. Lorenzo Bundy, a former roving instructor for the Rockies during Lindsey's time there was now the manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A team, the Las Vegas 51s and he convinced the Dodgers to bring Lindsey to spring training. He had a good spring training and the Dodgers signed him and sent him out to start the season at Double-A Jacksonville. He hit .286 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs for the Suns and when a spot opened up with the 51s, Lindsey got his first promotion to Triple-A. [4] He hit .333 with 19 home runs and 88 RBI for the 51s in 77 games during the 2007 season and received a non-roster invite to Major League camp in 2008 as a result.
He is nicknamed "Mayor" thanks to a name that is similar to John Lindsay, who was mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ ReviewJournal.com - Sports - SPOTLIGHT: 51S: 'Mayor' stays in running
- ^ John Lindsey Statistics - The Baseball Cube
- ^ CanAmLeague.com - Official Website of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball
- ^ ReviewJournal.com - Sports - SPOTLIGHT: 51S: 'Mayor' stays in running
- ^ ReviewJournal.com - Sports - SPOTLIGHT: 51S: 'Mayor' stays in running