Johnny Lewis (baseball)
| Johnny Lewis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: August 10, 1939 Greenville, Alabama, U.S. | |
| Died: July 29, 2018 (aged 78) Pensacola, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 14, 1964, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 11, 1967, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .227 |
| Home runs | 22 |
| Runs batted in | 74 |
| Teams | |
Johnny Joe Lewis (August 10, 1939 – July 29, 2018) was an American
scout and front-office executive. An outfielder, he appeared in 266 games in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets from 1964 to 1967. He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed as weighing 189 pounds (86 kg) and 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) in height. He was born in Greenville, Alabama
.
Lewis was signed as a
1964 Cardinals, making his debut on April 14 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he was sent back to Triple-A in June after playing in 40 games; he was recalled when the minor-league season ended but did not appear in a game[2] during the Cardinals' thrilling, late-season stretch drive that brought them the National League pennant and World Series
title. On December 7, 1964, he was included in a four-player transaction to the Mets, for whom he would play 226 games over three seasons.
As a Met, Lewis is probably best known for breaking up a
MLB tenure.[4]
Lewis' professional playing career ended in 1968 after ten seasons. He rejoined the Cardinals in 1969 and became the club's administrative coordinator of player development and scouting.Rookie League affiliate, the Calgary Cardinals, in 1977 and 1978. He also spent many years as a St. Louis scout.
During his major league playing career, Lewis collected 174 hits, with 24 doubles, six triples and 22 home runs, batting .227 with 74 career RBI. Defensively, he had 20 outfield assists.
Johnny Lewis died July 29, 2018, in Pensacola, Florida, at age 78.[5]
References
- Baseball Reference minor-league record and statistics
- ^ a b Stahl, John, Johnny Lewis, Society for American Baseball Research biography project
- ^ a b "New York Mets 1, Cincinnati Reds 0". Retrosheet. June 14, 1965.
- ^ "Cooperstown Confidential: The tale of the tape in 1965 - The Hardball Times". www.hardballtimes.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
- ^ "Johnny Lewis, Pensacola's first African-American MLB player, dies at 79". Retrieved August 6, 2018.
Further reading
- Globetti, Mike (July 7, 1977). "Lewis Won't Be Majors' Next Black Manager". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. Retrieved August 19, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Johnny Lewis at SABR (Baseball BioProject)