Now Batting: Johnny Jeter, of the Pittsburg Pirates!

When we think of the name Jeter, we think of the ultimate baseball player -- a winner and a leader on a dynasty team, and surely destined for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

But did you know that another Jeter played baseball besides Derek? He was Johnny Jeter, an outfielder that played from 1969 to 1974 on the Pittsburg Pirates, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. Johnny Jeter put up some really good power-hitting and batting average numbers in the minors, but never quite cut the mustard as a major league baseball player. I always liked Jeter, however. He seemed to try really hard, had a good smile and his baseball cap fit him nearly perfectly. He had a cool name, too, like one of those top 40 radio announcers. Alliteration can be so cool, sometimes.

Jeter ended up with a career .244 average with only 18 home runs. I really thought he was going to be a better player, but, then again, I was only seven-years-old at the time.

By the way, Johnny had a son, Shawn, who also played Major League baseball in 1992 on the Chicago White Sox!

Now Pitching: Bart Johnson, of the Chicago White Sox!

Mediocre Major League Baseball Players -- Bart Johnson  This lanky right-handed pitcher labored for the Chicago White Sox from 1969-1977. He had a "star" presence on the mound that never quite materialized. Johnson always had good stuff and decent command of the plate, but opposing players seemed to figure out how to hit the tar out of the ball.


Bart did have one terrific season in 1974 when he went 10-4 with a 2.73 era. If Johnson was around today, that would have meant a multi-million dollar contract!


Interesting to note that Johnson also played as an outfielder in the minors from 1972 to 1973. At Appleton in 1972, he hit .329 with six homes runs in only 143 at bats. Perhaps he should have considered sticking to batting!


Johnson's first name wasn't Bart, it was Clair. His middle name was Barth.