Johnathan Keith Gainer (born October 8, 1966) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who appeared in 23 games for the Colorado Rockies in its 1993 season. He is an alumnus of the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

Career

A member of the inaugural Rockies team, Gainer was previously selected by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in the 24th round of the

1990 MLB Draft The 1990 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

. He then was sent by San Diego to Colorado in exchange for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Denis Boucher Denis Boucher (born March 7, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, and Montreal Expos. He represented Canada at the 1987 Pan Amer ...

in March 1993. Gainer would make his

debut with the Rockies on May 14, 1993 as their starting first baseman and wore #37. At this time, Gainer became one of 22 players in Major League history to homer on the first pitch of their first Major League at bat. Afterwards, Gainer appeared in his final game on October 2 of that year as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

for

Lance Painter Lance Telford Painter (born July 21, 1967) is an English former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played for the Colorado Rockies (-), St. Louis Cardinals (-, ), Toronto Blue Jays (-), and Milwaukee Brewers (). Although he started 28 ...

. Besides, Gainer saw action in the Mexican and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

leagues. Overall, he hit .275 with 121 home runs and 484 RBI in 11 minor league seasons spanning 1990–2001. After retiring, he served as a hitting coach for the

Visalia Oaks Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

External links

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Baseball Reference (minors)
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Baseball Almanac
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1966 births Living people Allentown Ambassadors players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Florida Cafeteros de Córdoba players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Grosseto Baseball Club players American expatriate baseball players in Italy High Desert Mavericks players Olmecas de Tabasco players People from Panama City, Florida Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball replacement players Mexican League baseball first basemen South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Spokane Indians players Wichita Wranglers players {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub