Alex Johnson

For the Canadian singer and actor, see Alexz Johnson. For other uses, see Alexander Johnson (disambiguation).

Alex Johnson
Left fielder
Born: December 7, 1942 (1942-12-07) Helena, Arkansas
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 25, 1964 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 1976 for the Detroit Tigers
Career statistics
Batting average	.288
Home runs	78
Runs batted in	525
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (1964–1965) St. Louis Cardinals (1966–1967) Cincinnati Reds (1968–1969) California Angels (1970–1971) Cleveland Indians (1972) Texas Rangers (1973–1974) New York Yankees (1974–1975) Detroit Tigers (1976)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (1970) 1970 AL Batting Champion 1968 NL Comeback Player of the Year

Alexander Johnson (born December 7, 1942, in Helena, Arkansas is a former professional baseball player. He was an outfielder and designated hitter over parts of 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers. While playing for Cincinnati in 1968 and 1969, he batted over .300 both times, finishing 4th and 6th, respectively, in batting average in the National League. However, in both years, he led National League outfielders in errors. The following year, Johnson was traded with Chico Ruiz to the California Angels for pitchers Pedro Borbon‚ Jim McGlothlin, and Vern Geishert, when he won the American League batting title, but once again led league outfielders in errors and was 2nd in grounding out into double plays. He played with 4 other teams before retiring, always with a potent bat but a liability in the field.

Johnson turned down many football scholarships to pursue his dream of baseball. His brother, Ron, was a running back, notably for the New York Giants.

After Johnson retired he lived in Detroit and took over Johnson Trucking Service, which was founded by his father, Arthur Johnson, in the 1940s.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball batting champions

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball Library
• SABR BioProject - Alex Johnson

Preceded by Mike McCormick	NL Comeback Player of the Year 1968	Succeeded by Tommie Agee
Preceded by Rod Carew	American League Batting Champion 1970	Succeeded by Tony Oliva