View source for John Vander Wal

{{short description|American baseball player & coach (born 1966)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=John Vander Wal
|image=John Vander Wal, Jose Azocar (41852824395) (cropped).jpg
|caption=Vander Wal as manager of the [[West Michigan Whitecaps]] in 2018
|position=[[Outfielder]] / [[First baseman]]
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1966|4|29}}
|birth_place=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], U.S.
|death_date=
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 6
|debutyear=1991
|debutteam=Montreal Expos
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 27
|finalyear=2004
|finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.261
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=97
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=430
|teams=
*[[Montreal Expos]] ({{mlby|1991}}–{{mlby|1993}})
*[[Colorado Rockies]] ({{mlby|1994}}–{{mlby|1998}})
*[[San Diego Padres]] ({{mlby|1998}}–{{mlby|1999}})
*[[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|2000}}–{{mlby|2001}})
*[[San Francisco Giants]] ({{mlby|2001}})
*[[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|2002}})
*[[Milwaukee Brewers]] ({{mlby|2003}})
*[[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|2004}})
}}
'''John Henry Vander Wal''' (born April 29, 1966) is an [[Americans|American]] former [[Major League Baseball]] [[left-handed]] hitter who played [[outfield]] and [[first base]] for eight different teams over 14 seasons.
==Early life==
Vander Wal grew up in [[Hudsonville, Michigan]] and graduated from [[Hudsonville High School]] in Hudsonville. He was drafted in the 8th round of the [[1984 Major League Baseball Draft]] by the [[Houston Astros]]. He did not sign with Houston, and instead attended [[Western Michigan University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=vandejo02|title=John Vander Wal Stats|publisher= Baseball Almanac |access-date= November 15, 2012}}</ref> He was drafted by the [[Montreal Expos]] in the third round of the [[1987 Major League Baseball Draft]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vandejo02.shtml| title= John Vander Wal|publisher= Baseball Reference |access-date= November 15, 2012}}</ref>
==Major league career==
Vander Wal made his major league debut with the Expos on September 6, {{mlby|1991}}, and finished his first season with 13 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] in 61 [[at-bat]]s for a .213 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]].
Vander Wal played two more seasons in [[Montreal]] before moving on to the [[Colorado Rockies]] in {{mlby|1994}}, where he would spend all of four seasons and part of another, although he never recorded more than 151 at-bats or appeared in 105 games in any of those seasons. On August 31, {{mlby|1998}}, he was traded to the [[San Diego Padres]] for a [[Player to be named later|PTBNL]]. He went on to appear in the [[World Series]] with the Padres, recording two hits in five at-bats.
Vander Wal spent {{mlby|1999}} in [[San Diego]] before moving on to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] in a {{mlby|2000}} trade that brought [[Al Martin]] to the Padres. While playing for the Pirates, he posted his best season, appearing in 134 games, and batting .299 with 24 [[home run]]s and 94 [[Run batted in|RBI]]. In {{mlby|2001}}, Vander Wal was traded to the [[San Francisco Giants]], who later traded him to the [[New York Yankees]] for [[Jay Witasick]]. Vander Wal was a part-time performer for the Yankees in {{mlby|2002}}, before moving on to the [[Milwaukee Brewers]] in {{mlby|2003}}, and the [[Cincinnati Reds]] in {{mlby|2004}}, where he recorded just 6 hits in 51 at-bats for a .118 average.
Vander Wal played 14 seasons in the major leagues. 13 of these seasons were with [[National League (baseball)|National League]] clubs, where the [[pinch hitter]] was a much more widely used tactic prior to adoption of the [[designated hitter]].
In 1372 games over 14 seasons, Vander Wal posted a .261 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (717-for-2751) with 374 [[run (baseball)|runs]], 170 [[double (baseball)|doubles]], 18 [[triple (baseball)|triples]], 97 [[home runs]], 430 [[Run batted in|RBI]], 38 [[stolen bases]], 385 [[bases on balls]], .351 [[on-base percentage]] and .441 [[slugging percentage]]. He finished his career with a .987 [[fielding percentage]] playing at right and left field and first base. In 16 postseason games, he hit .286 (6-for-21) with 2 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 home run and 4 RBI.
On February 10, {{mlby|2009}}, Vander Wal was named a [[Scout (sports)|scout]] for the [[San Diego Padres]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20090210&content_id=3814708&vkey=pr_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd |title=Club hires John Vander Wal as professional scout |access-date=2009-02-10 |author= |date=2009-02-10 |work=MLB.com}}</ref> and held that position until 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110505&content_id=18693108&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd|title=Hinch making impact on Padres' pro scouting|publisher=San Diego Padres|access-date=November 15, 2012|archive-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511044830/http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110505&content_id=18693108&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Achievements==
Vander Wal holds the modern [[Major League Baseball]] single-season record for [[pinch hit]]s, with 28 in 1995 while playing for the [[Colorado Rockies]].<ref>{{cite news|work=[[New York Times]]|title=In A Pinch|date=September 17, 2006|page=Sports p. 2}}</ref> In 2017, [[Ichiro Suzuki]] almost equaled Vander Wal's record, but finished with 27 pinch-hits. In his career, Vander Wal contributed 129 pinch hits, which is [[pinch hitter|one of the highest totals of the modern era]], behind [[Lenny Harris]]' 212.
Vander Wal was inducted into the [[Western Michigan University]] Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Baseballstats |mlb=123639 |espn=2620 |br=v/vandejo02 |fangraphs=853 |brm=vander004joh |retro=V/Pvandj001}}
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=vandejo02 Baseball Almanac]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vander Wal, John}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada]]
[[Category:American people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Arizona Diamondbacks scouts]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Grand Rapids, Michigan]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Colorado Rockies players]]
[[Category:Colorado Springs Sky Sox players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Indians players]]
[[Category:Jacksonville Expos players]]
[[Category:Jamestown Expos players]]
[[Category:Louisville Bats players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball first basemen]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball left fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball right fielders]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Brewers players]]
[[Category:Montreal Expos players]]
[[Category:New York Yankees players]]
[[Category:People from Hudsonville, Michigan]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Ottawa County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players]]
[[Category:San Diego Padres players]]
[[Category:San Diego Padres scouts]]
[[Category:San Francisco Giants players]]
[[Category:West Palm Beach Expos players]]
[[Category:Western Michigan Broncos baseball players]]