William Russell Johnson (born February 22, 1973) is a 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), ...

infielder. He prepped at

Denham Springs High School Denham Springs High School is a public high school located in Denham Springs, Louisiana, United States. Denham Springs High School is a part of the Livingston Parish School System and was founded in 1897 as a school for the residents of Denham Sp ...

then went to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. He was drafted in the first round of the

1994 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did no ...

by the Houston Astros. In , he was called up to the majors by the Astros, where he remained until . His best season in Houston was , 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 ...

.282 with four

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 33 RBI.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

In the middle of the 2000 season, Johnson was traded to the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

for

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

Marc Valdes. He moved around several times during the next few years. With minor leaguer Josh Pressley, he was supplied by the Devil Rays in to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

as a PTBNL in a deal for

Rey Ordóñez Reynaldo Ordóñez Pereira (born January 11, 1971) is a former professional baseball shortstop. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Chicago Cubs. Early life Ordóñez defected from ...

. He spent and in the minor leagues with the Mets' and Cubs' Triple-A teams respectively.

Return to Majors

He reached the majors again in , when he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. He spent the year coming in off the bench as a

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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, pinch hitter,

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

, or

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. This made him the second "William Russell Johnson" to play for the Yankees. ( Billy Johnson, who has the same first, middle, and last name, but is no relation, played for New York in the 1940s.) In , he played for the Yankees Triple-A team, and led the International League in

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

percentage (14.8%).Fangraphs stats
/ref> He spent in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, where he hit a combined .261 in 106 games split between Double-A and Triple-A.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Russ 1973 births Living people Denham Springs High School alumni Baseball players from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Houston Astros players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players New York Yankees players Major League Baseball third basemen LSU Tigers baseball players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players New Orleans Zephyrs players Orlando Rays players Durham Bulls players Norfolk Tides players Iowa Cubs players Columbus Clippers players Altoona Curve players Indianapolis Indians players Baseball players from Shreveport, Louisiana