William Russell Johnson (born February 22, 1973 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

) is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 infielder

Infielder

An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

. He went to Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

 and was drafted in the first round of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft

1994 Major League Baseball Draft

-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft.-Compensation picks:-Other notable players:*A.J. Pierzynski , Minnesota Twins, 3rd round*Bobby Howry , San Francisco Giants, 5th round...

 by the Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

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

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .282 with four home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 33 RBI

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

.

In the middle of the 2000 season, Johnson was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...

 for reliever

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 Marc Valdes

Marc Valdes

Marc Christopher Valdes is a former Major League Baseball pitcher, born in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from Jesuit High School in 1990....

. 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

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 as a PTBNL

Player to be named later

The concept of the "player to be named later" is most often associated with Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball trades.-Description:...

 in a deal for Rey Ordonez

Rey Ordóñez

Reynaldo Ordóñez Pereira is a former professional baseball shortstop. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Chicago Cubs....

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

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

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

 with the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

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

First baseman

First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

, third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball 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...

, pinch hitter

Pinch hitter

In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...

, designated hitter

Designated hitter

In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...

, or outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

. 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

International League

The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

 in walk

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

 percentage (14.8%). He spent in the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

 organization, where he hit a combined .261 in 106 games split between Double-A and Triple-A.

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