John William Lindsey (born January 30, 1977) is a former professional baseball

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 ...

. Lindsey is known for having spent the most time in the minor leagues (sixteen years) before making his major league debut, which he did in 2010 with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. Lindsey has also played in the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

minor league systems as well as in the independent

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

and

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

leagues.

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

star in high school in Hattiesburg,ReviewJournal.com - Sports - SPOTLIGHT: 51S: 'Mayor' stays in running
/ref> Lindsey was drafted by the

in the 13th round of the

1995 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Background Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...

. He played in the Rockies farm system from 1995 to 2001 with stops in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

and Salem, never rising above Single-A.

Seattle Mariners

In 2002, he signed with the

and played for the Single-A San Bernardino Stampede and the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

from 2002 to 2004. His best season was in 2002 with San Bernardino when he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.297 with 22

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 93

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs). Although a scout had told Lindsey early in his career that if he consistently batted .275 and hit 20 home runs he would likely reach the major leagues, Lindsey remained in the minors, in part due to his weak defensive skills.

New Jersey Jackals

Never able to move past Double-A and frustrated by a brief stint with the

Single-A team, the

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

, in 2005, he signed with the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are an American professional baseball team based in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, Sky ...

of the independent

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

. He played well with New Jersey, hitting .311 with 10 home runs in 69 games in 2006 before being sidelined by a leg injury during a

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

collision.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Ready to retire after the 2006 season, he went back home to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, enrolled at Pearl River Junior College and was preparing for life after baseball.

Lorenzo Bundy Charles Lorenzo Bundy (born November 6, 1959) is a former Minor League Baseball player and current manager of the Winston-Salem Dash, the High-A Chicago White Sox affiliate. He has held Major League Baseball coaching positions with the Colorado ...

, a former roving instructor for the Rockies during Lindsey's time there was now the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

for the

Triple-A team, the Las Vegas 51s and he convinced the Dodgers to bring Lindsey to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He had a good spring training and the Dodgers signed him and sent him out to start the season at Double-A

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. 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. He hit .333 with 19 home runs and 88 RBIs for the 51s in 77 games during the 2007 season and received a non-roster invitation to major league camp in 2008 as a result. Lindsey spent the entire 2008 season with the Las Vegas 51s. He had one of his best seasons to date, batting .316 with 26 home runs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded the annual Mayor's Trophy based on fan voting, becoming the only player in franchise history to win the trophy in back-to-back years.

Florida Marlins

He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

in January 2009. He spent 2009 with the

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

Lindsey rejoined the Dodgers on a minor league contract for 2010. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

to start the season. Lindsey was twice selected PCL Player of the Week and on May 11, tied a franchise record with five hits in a 5-for-5 performance at

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. He hit .353 in 107 games with the Isotopes, including 25 home runs and 97 RBIs and was selected to both the mid-season and post-season

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

all-star teams. Although his Triple-A wages and additional money from playing in the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

earned Lindsey a comfortable salary "close to six figures", ESPN speculated in a long profile of the player that, had he entered baseball before or after the

steroid era The history of baseball in the United States dates to the 18th century, when boys and amateur enthusiasts played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using homemade equipment. The popularity of the sport grew and amateur men's ball ...

distorted other players' performance, "his career may have turned out completely different". After the Isotopes' season ended in early September, Lindsey's wife was driving to him to take him home to Mississippi when on September 6, the Dodgers called Lindsey up to the major leagues for the first time, adding him to the team's

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. He had spent more time in the minors—16 years—before reaching the majors than any other active player. Lindsey made his Major League debut on September 8 against 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 penna ...

as a pinch hitter, but did not bat because the Padres made a pitching change and he was subsequently pinch hit for by

Andre Ethier Andre Everett Ethier (; born April 10, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2017 and is second all-time in post-season appearances as a Do ...

. His first official at-bat was the following day against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, when he flew out to center also as a pinch hitter. Lindsey had his first hit against the Astros on Sunday, September 12, with his family present. That was the only hit he recorded in 12 at-bats with the Dodgers in 2010 before he broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch in a game against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

. He was designated for assignment on March 30, 2011. He appeared in 75 games for Albuquerque in 2011, hitting .309 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs.

Detroit Tigers

After beginning 2012 with the

Vaqueros Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, he signed with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and was assigned to the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. Lindsey was released by Toledo, having played his last game on April 30, 2013.

Independent leagues and Mexico

He later played in the

Canadian-American Association The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

in 2012, the

Mexican Summer League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

in 2014 and the

Mexican Pacific Winter League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

in 2012–2015.

Personal

Lindsey and his wife Christa have a son, John III. Lindsey is nicknamed "Mayor" thanks to a name that is similar to

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

, who was mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from 1966 to 1973.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsey, John 1977 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona League Dodgers players Arizona League Rockies players Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Mississippi Diablos Rojos del México players Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Jacksonville Suns players Jupiter Hammerheads players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first basemen Mayos de Navojoa players Mexican League baseball first basemen Naranjeros de Hermosillo players New Jersey Jackals players New Orleans Zephyrs players Piratas de Campeche players Portland Rockies players Salem Avalanche players San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Stampede players Toledo Mud Hens players Tomateros de Culiacán players Toros de Tijuana players Vaqueros Laguna players Venados de Mazatlán players