Ben Johnson

Who is Ben Johnson?

Benjamin Joseph Johnson is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. Johnson was named the Memphis area High School Player of the Year in baseball at Germantown High School in 1999. He was also recruited to play football at Mississippi State University, but opted for baseball instead.

He was a 4th round draft pick in 1999 by the St. Louis Cardinals, and was traded the following year to the San Diego Padres, along with Heathcliff Slocumb for Carlos Hernández and Nathan Tebbs.

He worked his way up to Triple-A in 2005, where he was an All-Star outfielder and the San Diego Padres Minor League Player of the Year, hitting .312 with 25 home runs. He was brought up to the majors that year and received limited playing time with the Padres, hitting .213 in 75 at-bats, and .250 with 4 home runs in 120 at-bats in 2006.

He was not selected for San Diego's 2006 playoff roster, and after the season ended he was traded to the New York Mets with relief pitcher Jon Adkins in exchange for relievers Heath Bell and Royce Ring.

Since joining the Mets, Johnson has been shuttled up and down between New York and Triple-A New Orleans. During June, he received some playing time when all three Mets regular outfielders were injured.