| Michael Johnson |
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Rated as the #2 senior prospect in the nation according to
Baseball America...Preseason Second-Team All-America according to
both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball...Preseason First-Team
All-ACC pick, #5 ACC prospect for the 2003 draft, and top defensive
first-baseman in the ACC by Baseball America...power-hitting
first-baseman who has 46 career homers in three seasons; he needs 14
to break the Clemson career record and 24 to break the ACC
record...has a career .656 slugging percentage and has showed power
to all fields...a career .346 hitter in 177 games...has a career .453
on-base percentage and 24 steals...his stock rose in terms of draft
status thanks to his raw power and high batting average...has seven
career multi-homer games...has a career .500 batting average
(14-for-28) with three homers, 10 RBIs, a 1.000 slugging percentage,
and .559 on-base percentage in eight ACC Tournament games...has a
career .397 batting average in NCAA Tournament play; also has hit
nine homers, six doubles, and 24 RBIs along with a .921 slugging
percentage and .500 on-base percentage in 20 NCAA Tourney games; the
nine homers is a Clemson record for most homers in NCAA Tournament
play in a career...very quiet and down home off the field...a 2003
team captain.
LEGGETT COMMENTS "Michael is one of the top power hitters
in the country returning to college. We are very excited about his
return after being drafted last year. We think it is going to be a
great year for Michael Johnson, one of our outstanding leaders and
captains. He has excellent power and will hit in the middle of the
lineup. He is also an excellent first baseman defensively. He is
one of our most competitive and toughest athletes that we have on our
baseball team."
CLEMSON HIGHLIGHTS
2002: Second-Team All-American by ABCA...Third-Team
All-American by Collegiate Baseball...drafted by the Padres in the
second round (54th overall pick) in the Major League
Draft...co-captain...hit .384 with 25 homers and 81 RBIs in starting
all 71 games at first base...the .384 batting average was sixth-best
in the ACC...his 101 hits was fifth-best in the ACC...his 25 homers
ranked tied for second in the ACC, tied for the fourth-best mark in
ACC history, and tied for the second-best mark in Tiger
history...ranked fifth in the ACC in RBIs with 81...ranked second in
the ACC in total bases with 197...ranked tied for second in the ACC
in walks with 50...ranked fifth in the ACC with a .492 on-base
percentage...ranked fourth in the ACC with a .749 slugging
percentage...First-Team All-ACC pick...had a .749 slugging percentage
and .492 on-base percentage thanks to 50 walks and eight
hit-by-pitches...had 11 steals in 14 attempts...named the midseason's
top junior first baseman by Baseball America...received the Tiger
Baseball Leadership Award...hit .400 against lefties...hit .430 with
the bases empty and reached base 51.7 percent of the time he led off
an inning...hit a team-best .500 (17-for-34) with six doubles, a
triple, four homers, and 14 RBIs in nine neutral-site games...hit
.411 in 33 night games...hit .405 with 13 homers and 35 RBIs in 32
games against top-25 teams...hit .425 with 11 homers, 34 RBIs, and a
.943 slugging percentage in 21 March games...hit .429 in May...hit
.520 in third innings and .500 in fifth innings...had 29 multi-hit
games and 20 multi-RBI games...had a 20-game hitting streak from Mar.
1-30, tying him for the 11th longest in Tiger history...received the
Bob Bradley Award for the Most Outstanding Tiger player in the South
Carolina series; he hit four homers and drove in seven runs in four
games against the Gamecocks...was 12-for-20 (.600) with three
doubles, a triple, two homers, and nine RBIs in five ACC Tournament
games to earn All-Tournament honors; he also had at least two hits in
all five games...his .600 batting average in the ACC Tourney set a
Clemson record...earned College World Series All-Tournament honors by
hitting two homers and three doubles with five RBIs in four
games...hit .448 with a team-high seven homers and 21 RBIs in 15
postseason games...went 3-for-4 with a home run in the season opener
against #25 Auburn on Feb. 22...hit a key home run at #4 South
Carolina on Mar. 2...went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs,
including one to give the Tigers the lead late in the game, against
#4 South Carolina on Mar. 3...named ACC Player-of-the-Week on Mar. 4
when he hit 6-for-12 with seven RBIs and three homers in the previous
week...went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and two home runs against College
of Charleston on Mar. 6...hit a grand slam against Purdue on Mar.
9...went 4-for-5 with a homer, double, three runs scored, and three
RBIs against UNC Asheville on Mar. 19...hit a home run and drove in
four runs against Maine on Mar. 22...extended his hitting streak to
20 games and went 3-for-5 with a homer against Maryland on Mar.
30...went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base at #13 North
Carolina on Apr. 12...hit two, two-run homers against Western
Carolina on Apr. 16...went 3-for-6 with a homer and three RBIs at #9
Georgia Tech on May 4...had three hits in four at-bats at #9 Georgia
Tech on May 6...had two hits and three RBIs against Elon on May
9...went 3-for-6 with an RBI at Virginia on May 12...First-Team
Preseason All-American according to the NCBWA...Third-Team Preseason
All-American according to Collegiate Baseball...went 3-for-5 with a
triple, double, and three RBIs against #7 Georgia Tech in the ACC
Tournament on May 22...went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs
against #2 Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament on May 25...went 3-for-4
with a long home run against #1 Florida State in the ACC Tournament
on May 25...went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer, three runs scored,
two walks, and five RBIs against #22 East Carolina in the Clemson
Regional on June 2...hit the go-ahead home run, a solo blast, against
#18 Arkansas in the Clemson Super Regional on June 9...went 3-for-3
with three runs scored, two doubles, a homer, and two RBIs against #6
Georgia Tech in the College World Series on June 16...hit a two-run
homer against #3 South Carolina in the College World Series on June
19.
2001: Established himself as the starter at first
base...second on the team and third in the ACC in home runs
(18)...his 18 home runs is the seventh most in a season at
Clemson...homered in five consecutive games at the end of the season,
the longest streak by a Tiger since Matthew LeCroy homered in five
straight in 1996; it also tied the Clemson record for consecutive
games with a home run...led the team with 43 walks, which was good
enough for fifth in the ACC...second on the team in slugging
percentage (.629) and on-base percentage (.442)...batted 3-for-4 with
three RBIs in a 7-3 win over Richmond...homered in three straight
games against Furman and in the home-and-home games with South
Carolina...went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in a 9-6 win over
Maryland...went 2-for-4 with a home run in a 7-0 victory over
Maryland...went 3-for-3 with three runs scored in a 9-1 win over Wake
Forest...drove in five runs and homered twice in a 24-3 win against
New York Tech...went 3-for-4 with an RBI in a 14-0 win over New York
Tech...blasted two home runs in a 10-2 victory over Duke...broke out
of a 6-for-54 slump by getting six hits in the Virginia series...went
5-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored in a 17-1 win over
Virginia on May 12...hit his 14th home run of the year against
Florida State in the ACC Tournament, despite having stomach problems
the day of the game...continued his hot streak in the Clemson
Regional, where he was named tourney MVP...opened the scoring for
Clemson with a home run in all three games of the Clemson Regional,
including a solo shot against William & Mary, a three-run home run
against Seton Hall on Saturday and a two-run homer against the
Pirates on Sunday...went 3-for-5 with six RBIs in the 24-4 win over
Seton Hall; the six RBIs tied a Clemson NCAA Tournament record, as he
became just the third Tiger to tally six RBIs in an NCAA Tourney
game...finished as the regional leader in batting average (.636),
runs scored (7), RBIs (9), and homers (3)...his three home runs in a
regional tied a school record and he is the first Tiger ever to homer
in three straight NCAA Tournament games...homered and went 2-for-4
with three runs scored in game one of the Super Regional at Miami
(FL); that gave him four home runs in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, a
record for one tournament by a Clemson player; the homer travelled
over the centerfield batters' eye and was the only home run ball to
do so all year at Mark Light Stadium.
2000: Missed 15 games up until the Clemson Regional with a
broken hand, but returned to come off the bench in all three regional
games and one Super Regional game...hit .306 with three homers and 27
RBIs in 121 at bats...made 32 starts (30 at first base and two as the
DH) and subbed in 12 other games...had three multi-RBI games, two of
which were five-RBI games...hit a double in his first official career
at bat against #23 Central Florida on Jan. 30 in the ACC Disney Blast
at Lake Buena Vista, FL...hit two homers (first two of his career and
first two by Clemson in 2000) against Old Dominion on Feb. 20; one of
the homers was a grand slam and he went 3-for-4 with five
RBIs...scored two runs and had an RBI along with a double and triple
against #17 East Carolina on Mar. 14...had five RBIs, including a
triple and home run, against Maryland on Mar. 17...went 2-for-3 with
a two-run double, which turned out to be the decisive runs in
Clemson's 3-2 win, against Furman on Apr. 5.
1999: Red-shirted.
BEFORE CLEMSON All-Region VII AAA selection as a
junior...also a member of the Sun News "Toast of the Coast" and the
Post & Courier All-Lowcountry Team...a 1997 South Carolina High
School Sports Report Select mini-camp invitee...played for the Region
VII AAA champions with a record of 18-9, including a 10-0 record in
region play, as a junior...hit .422 with 14 doubles in only 90 at
bats as a junior...broke the Georgetown High School single-season
record for runs scored with 40 and doubles with 14 in his junior
season; also tied the school record with 38 hits that same
season...lettered four times in baseball...earned three academic
letters for being on the honor roll from 1995-97...inducted into the
National Honor Society...attended the Clemson Baseball Camp for six
years from 1992-97, and won the hitting award in 1993 and
1997...coached by his father, Mike Johnson Sr., at Georgetown High.
PERSONAL His father, Mike Sr., played baseball at Erskine
from 1966-69...his grandfather, Farrel Owens, played football and
baseball at Clemson in the early 1950s...nicknamed "M.J."...majoring
in THRD...named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2000-01...named to
the ACC Academic honor roll for the 2001-02 season as well, where he
had a 3.13 GPA...born William Michael Johnson, Jr. on June 25, 1980
in Georgetown, SC.
Johnson Career Stats
Year AVG G-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB HBP SF OB% SB
2000 .306 44-32 121 27 37 9 2 3 27 59 13 2 2 .377 2-4
2001 .321 62-58 218 58 70 13 1 18 54 139 43 6 1 .444 11-11
2002 .384 71-71 263 62 101 19 1 25 81 197 50 8 2 .492 11-14
Total .346 177-161 602 147 208 41 4 46 162 395 106 16 5 .453 24-29
