John William Lindsey (born January 30, 1977 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is a first baseman who is currently a free agent.

A football and baseball star in high school in Hattiesburg^[1], Lindsey was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 13th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft. He played in the Rockies farm system from 1995-2001 with stops in Portland, Asheville and Salem, never rising above Single-A. In 2002, seeking a fresh start, he signed with the Seattle Mariners and played for the Single-A San Bernardino Stampede and the Double-A San Antonio Missions from 2002-2004. His best season was in 2002 with San Bernardino when he hit .297 with 22 home runs and 93 RBI. Never able to move past Double-A and frustrated by a brief stint with the Florida Marlins Single-A team in Jupiter Hammerheads in 2005, he signed with the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League.^[2] He played well with New Jersey, hitting .311 with 10 homers in 69 games in 2006 before being sidelined by a leg injury during a home plate collision ^[3].

Ready to call it a career after the 2006 season, he went back home to Mississippi, enrolled at Pearl River Junior College and was preparing for life after baseball. Lorenzo Bundy, a former roving instructor for the Rockies during Lindsey's time there was now the manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A team, the Las Vegas 51s and he convinced the Dodgers to bring Lindsey to spring training. He had a good spring training and the Dodgers signed him and sent him out to start the season at Double-A Jacksonville. He hit .286 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI for the Suns and when a spot opened up with the 51s, Lindsey got his first promotion to Triple-A. ^[1] He hit .333 with 19 home runs and 88 RBI for the 51s in 77 games during the 2007 season and received a non-roster invitation to major league camp in 2008 as a result.

Lindsey spent the entire 2008 season with the Las Vegas 51s. He had one of his best seasons to date, batting .316 with 26 home runs and 100 RBI. For the second year in a row, and the only player in franchise history to do so, he won the annual Mayor's Trophy^[4]. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Florida Marlins in January 2009.^[5]

He is nicknamed "Mayor" thanks to a name that is similar to John Lindsay, who was mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference