{{short description|American baseball player & coach (born 1966)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=John Vander Wal |image=John Vander Wal, Jose Azocar (41852824395) (cropped).jpg |caption=Vander Wal as manager of the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2018 |position=Outfielder / First baseman |bats=Left |throws=Left |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1966|4|29}} |birth_place=Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |death_date= |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 6 |debutyear=1991 |debutteam=Montreal Expos |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 27 |finalyear=2004 |finalteam=Cincinnati Reds |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.261 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=97 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=430 |teams= *Montreal Expos ({{mlby|1991}}–{{mlby|1993}}) *Colorado Rockies ({{mlby|1994}}–{{mlby|1998}}) *San Diego Padres ({{mlby|1998}}–{{mlby|1999}}) *Pittsburgh Pirates ({{mlby|2000}}–{{mlby|2001}}) *San Francisco Giants ({{mlby|2001}}) *New York Yankees ({{mlby|2002}}) *Milwaukee Brewers ({{mlby|2003}}) *Cincinnati Reds ({{mlby|2004}}) }} '''John Henry Vander Wal''' (born April 29, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed hitter who played outfield and first base for eight different teams over 14 seasons.

==Early life== Vander Wal grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan and graduated from Hudsonville High School in Hudsonville. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros. He did not sign with Houston, and instead attended Western Michigan University.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=vandejo02|title=John Vander Wal Stats|publisher= Baseball Almanac |access-date= November 15, 2012}}</ref> He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the third round of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Vander Wal Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vandejo02.shtml |access-date=2025-11-28 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Major league career== Vander Wal made his major league debut with the Expos on September 6, {{mlby|1991}}, and finished his first season with 13 hits in 61 at-bats for a .213 batting average.

Vander Wal played two more seasons in Montreal before moving on to the Colorado Rockies in {{mlby|1994}}, where he would spend all of four seasons and part of another, although he never recorded more than 151 at-bats or appeared in 105 games in any of those seasons. On August 31, {{mlby|1998}}, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for a PTBNL. He went on to appear in the World Series with the Padres, recording two hits in five at-bats.

Vander Wal spent {{mlby|1999}} in San Diego before moving on to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a {{mlby|2000}} trade that brought Al Martin to the Padres. While playing for the Pirates, he posted his best season, appearing in 134 games, and batting .299 with 24 home runs and 94 RBI. In {{mlby|2001}}, Vander Wal was traded to the San Francisco Giants, who later traded him to the New York Yankees for Jay Witasick. Vander Wal was a part-time performer for the Yankees in {{mlby|2002}}, before moving on to the Milwaukee Brewers in {{mlby|2003}}, and the Cincinnati Reds in {{mlby|2004}}, where he recorded just 6 hits in 51 at-bats for a .118 average.

Vander Wal played 14 seasons in the major leagues. 13 of these seasons were with National League clubs, where the pinch hitter was a much more widely used tactic prior to adoption of the designated hitter.

In 1372 games over 14 seasons, Vander Wal posted a .261 batting average (717-for-2751) with 374 runs, 170 doubles, 18 triples, 97 home runs, 430 RBI, 38 stolen bases, 385 bases on balls, .351 on-base percentage and .441 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .987 fielding percentage playing at right and left field and first base. In 16 postseason games, he hit .286 (6-for-21) with 2 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 home run and 4 RBI.

On February 10, {{mlby|2009}}, Vander Wal was named a scout for the San Diego Padres<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20090210&content_id=3814708&vkey=pr_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd |title=Club hires John Vander Wal as professional scout |access-date=2009-02-10 |author= |date=2009-02-10 |work=MLB.com}}</ref> and held that position until 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110505&content_id=18693108&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd|title=Hinch making impact on Padres' pro scouting|publisher=San Diego Padres|access-date=November 15, 2012|archive-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511044830/http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110505&content_id=18693108&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Achievements== Vander Wal holds the modern Major League Baseball single-season record for pinch hits, with 28 in 1995 while playing for the Colorado Rockies.<ref>{{cite news|work=New York Times|title=In A Pinch|date=September 17, 2006|page=Sports p. 2}}</ref> In 2017, Ichiro Suzuki almost equaled Vander Wal's record, but finished with 27 pinch-hits. In his career, Vander Wal contributed 129 pinch hits, which is one of the highest totals of the modern era, behind Lenny Harris' 212.

Vander Wal was inducted into the Western Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb=123639 |espn=2620 |br=v/vandejo02 |fangraphs=853 |brm=vander004joh |retro=V/Pvandj001}} * [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=vandejo02 Baseball Almanac]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vander Wal, John}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Category:Baseball players from Grand Rapids, Michigan Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Colorado Rockies players Category:Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Category:Indianapolis Indians players Category:Jacksonville Expos players Category:Jamestown Expos players Category:Louisville Bats players Category:Major League Baseball first basemen Category:Major League Baseball left fielders Category:Major League Baseball right fielders Category:Milwaukee Brewers players Category:Montreal Expos players Category:New York Yankees players Category:People from Hudsonville, Michigan Category:Baseball players from Ottawa County, Michigan Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players Category:San Diego Padres players Category:San Diego Padres scouts Category:San Francisco Giants players Category:West Palm Beach Expos players Category:Western Michigan Broncos baseball players Category:20th-century American sportsmen