Reed Johnson

Reed Johnson is a former professional baseball outfielder who spent 13 years in Major League Baseball, including parts of four seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

After becoming the first Cal State Fullerton player to score 100 runs and collect 100 hits in a season, Johnson was drafted in the 17th round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He quickly rose the minor league ranks as one of the best hitters in the Jays' farm system, making his MLB debut in 2003. He then broke out with a career-best campaign in 2006, hitting .319/.390/.479 and accruing 5.1 WAR as the team's starting left fielder. He also currently holds the MLB record for most times hit by a pitch in a game (three), something that happened to him on three occasions with the Blue Jays (also a record).

A difficult 2007 season led to Johnson getting released prior to Opening Day in 2008, and he immediately signed with the Cubs. He became Jim Edmonds' platoon partner in center field (Felix Pie also factored in occasionally) and played well when called upon, batting .303/.358/.420 in 333 at-bats. Despite his impressive maiden campaign in the Windy City, Johnson did not play at all in the Cubs' Divisional Round loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs.

Johnson followed up that strong 2008 season with a mediocre encore in 2009 (.255/.330/.412), which was exacerbated by a foot fracture sustained near the trade deadline. The Cubs petered out and missed the playoffs that year, and Johnson was left to fend for himself in free agency. After a relatively successful one-year stint with the Dodgers, Johnson came back to the Cubs in 2011 on a minor-league deal.

Now rebuilding, the 2011 Cubs were able to give Johnson a bigger runway to playing time. Splitting his time between all three outfield positions (primarily right field), he hit .309 with an .816 OPS that season, leading the team in batting average (Carlos Zambrano technically hit .318 that year, but he only drew 48 plate appearances and thus, didn't qualify). Johnson got off to a similar roaring start in 2012 (.302/.355/.444) and was eventually dealt, alongside starting pitcher Paul Maholm, to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for prospects Arodys Vizcaíno and Jaye Chapman.

After a successful half-year with the Braves, Johnson played one more season in Atlanta before wrapping up his career with short stints with the Miami Marlins (2014) and Washington Nationals (2015). He retired after being released by Washington in April 2016.