Lance Johnson

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Kenneth Lance Johnson (born July 6, 1963 in Cincinnati, Ohio) was a Major League Baseball player. At the age of 24, Johnson broke into the big leagues on July 10, 1987, with the St. Louis Cardinals after being drafted by them in the 6th round of the 1984 amateur draft. In 1987 Johnson, playing for the Louisville Redbirds, was the American Association Most Valuable Player. From 1988-95 Johnson played for the Chicago White Sox.

From 1991 through 1994, Johnson led the American League in triples, becoming the first player in Major League history to lead their league in triples for four consecutive years. In 1996, he led the National League in triples, becoming only the third player in history to lead both Major Leagues in triples (Sam Crawford and Brett Butler being the first two).

As of 2005, he is one of only four players (Sam Crawford, Stan Musial, and Willie Wilson) to lead a Major League in triples as many as five times.

His finest season came in 1996 with the New York Mets. That year, he accumulated 227 hits, 21 triples (the highest single season total in that stat since 1951), and a .333 batting average, all career highs. Thus, Johnson became one of only a handful of players to hit 20 triples in a season since the Major Leagues integrated in 1947 (Willie Mays in 1957, George Brett in 1979, Willie Wilson in 1985, Cristian Guzman in 2000, and Curtis Granderson in 2007).

After the Mets, he played with the Chicago Cubs from 1997-1999. He was slowed down by injuries during his years with the Cubs and in 2000, he finally ended his career with the New York Yankees

His speed on the base paths, and his uniform number "1", earned him the endearing nickname "One Dog". "One Dog" is also the name of the record company he had during his MLB career.^{[citation needed]}

After graduating from Princeton High School, Johnson completed his education at the University of South Alabama. He now resides in Alabama with his wife.

[edit] See also

• List of Major League Baseball triples champions
• List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
• Chicago White Sox all-time roster

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference