Dan Johnson

Daniel Ryan "Dan" Johnson (born August 10, 1979) is an American professional baseball pitcher and designated hitter who is currently a free agent. He has played most of his ten seasons in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball as a first baseman and pitcher, but has never held a Major League starting job for an entire season. He is perhaps best known for hitting a dramatic two-out, two-strike home run for the Tampa Bay Rays in the bottom of the ninth inning of the last game of the 2011 season, also known as Wild Card Wednesday. That home run tied the game, which the Rays eventually won, sending them to the playoffs. His clutch hitting for the Rays, along with his red hair and beard, earned him the nickname "The Great Pumpkin".Also within his extensive Minor League Baseball career that began in 2001, Johnson has won a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in two different Triple-A leagues. He won the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2004 and the International League MVP in 2010. In 2016, Johnson signed with the Rays organization, entering spring training as a knuckleball pitcher.