John Vander Wal

Born: 4/29/1966 in Grand Rapids, MI, USA

MLB Debut: 1991-09-06 | Final Game: 2004-09-27

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 180 lbs

Full name: John Henry Vander Wal

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Biography

John Vander Wal was a versatile position player whose Major League Baseball career spanned from 1991 to 2004. Born in 1966, Vander Wal made his mark in the league as a reliable hitter, finishing his career with 717 hits over 1,372 games. He showcased his power by belting 97 home runs and driving in 430 runs, while his batting average stood at .261. Vander Wal also demonstrated speed on the bases, accumulating 38 stolen bases throughout his tenure. Vander Wal played in an era characterized by offensive power and evolving player roles, transitioning from traditional positions to more specialized roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His ability to contribute both as a starter and off the bench made him a valuable asset to the teams he played for, which included the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies, among others. As a left-handed batter, Vander Wal was known for his disciplined approach at the plate and ability to handle right-handed pitching, making him a consistent performer in the league during his time.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1372	2751	374	717	170	18	97	430	38	385	698	0.261	0.351	0.441	0.792	3097.9

Career AVG .261 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .351 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .441 vs. league average .418 across their career seasons — +5.7% above league average.

Career OPS 0.792 vs. league average 0.753 across their career seasons — +5.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1991	WSN	NL	21	61	4	13	4	1	1	8	0	1	18	0.213	.255 (-17%)	.323 (-31%)	.384 (-6%)	.708 (-18%)	-215.1
1992	WSN	NL	105	213	21	51	8	2	4	20	3	24	36	0.239	.255 (-6%)	.322 (-2%)	.377 (-7%)	.699 (-4%)	-146.8
1993	WSN	NL	106	215	34	50	7	4	5	30	6	27	30	0.233	.265 (-12%)	.332 (-4%)	.403 (-8%)	.735 (-6%)	-236.6
1994	COL	NL	91	110	12	27	3	1	5	15	2	16	31	0.245	.269 (-9%)	.338 (avg)	.424 (+1%)	.763 (avg)	19.2
1995	COL	NL	105	101	15	35	8	1	5	21	1	16	23	0.347	.266 (+30%)	.337 (+28%)	.417 (+42%)	.755 (+36%)	744.7
1996	COL	NL	104	151	20	38	6	2	5	31	2	19	38	0.252	.269 (-7%)	.340 (-2%)	.426 (-2%)	.767 (-2%)	-64.1
1997	COL	NL	76	92	7	16	2	0	1	11	1	10	33	0.174	.266 (-35%)	.336 (-24%)	.419 (-46%)	.756 (-36%)	-613.7
1998	COL	NL	89	104	18	30	10	1	5	20	0	16	29	0.288	.266 (+8%)	.335 (+13%)	.420 (+30%)	.755 (+23%)	456.9
1998	SDP	NL	20	25	3	6	3	0	0	0	0	6	5	0.240	—	—	—	—	456.9
1999	SDP	NL	132	246	26	67	18	0	6	41	2	37	59	0.272	.271 (avg)	.344 (+7%)	.433 (-3%)	.778 (+1%)	120.6
2000	PIT	NL	134	384	74	115	29	0	24	94	11	72	92	0.299	.270 (+11%)	.344 (+19%)	.437 (+29%)	.782 (+24%)	2159.7
2001	PIT	NL	97	313	39	87	22	3	11	50	7	42	84	0.278	.263 (+5%)	.332 (+9%)	.426 (+11%)	.758 (+10%)	618.7
2001	SFG	NL	49	139	19	35	6	1	3	20	1	26	38	0.252	.263 (-5%)	.332 (+11%)	.426 (-12%)	.758 (-2%)	618.7
2002	NYY	AL	84	219	30	57	17	1	6	20	1	23	58	0.260	.261 (avg)	.331 (-1%)	.416 (+3%)	.747 (+1%)	3.6
2003	MIL	NL	117	327	50	84	25	1	14	45	1	46	104	0.257	.264 (-3%)	.332 (+5%)	.422 (+11%)	.754 (+8%)	597.7
2004	CIN	NL	42	51	2	6	2	0	2	4	0	4	20	0.118	.266 (-56%)	.335 (-46%)	.427 (-36%)	.762 (-40%)	-383.5

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
16	21	2	6	1	1	1	4	0	8	0.286

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SO	AVG
2002	ALDS1	NYA	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000
1998	NLCS	SDN	3	7	1	3	0	0	1	2	2	0.429
1998	NLDS2	SDN	3	3	1	1	0	1	0	2	1	0.333
1998	WS	SDN	4	5	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	0.400
1995	NLDS1	COL	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0.000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	178	116	1044	50	9	90
OF	587	492	923	18	17	3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1991	MON	OF	17	17	29	0	0	0
1992	MON	1B	7	4	23	4	0	3
1992	MON	OF	57	41	99	2	2	0
1993	MON	1B	42	31	237	13	3	17
1993	MON	OF	38	23	34	1	1	0
1994	COL	1B	14	10	96	3	0	11
1994	COL	OF	7	5	10	0	0	0
1995	COL	1B	10	3	42	3	2	3
1995	COL	OF	10	2	9	1	0	0
1996	COL	1B	10	4	38	2	1	2
1996	COL	OF	26	21	34	0	0	0
1997	COL	1B	5	2	26	0	0	2
1997	COL	OF	9	5	12	0	1	0
1998	COL	1B	2	1	8	1	0	0
1998	COL	OF	25	12	21	2	0	0
1998	SDN	1B	3	2	14	2	0	1
1998	SDN	OF	5	2	7	0	0	0
1999	SDN	1B	28	19	156	8	1	14
1999	SDN	OF	48	39	71	2	0	1
2000	PIT	1B	33	25	251	10	1	21
2000	PIT	OF	78	71	134	2	5	0
2001	PIT	1B	13	11	111	4	1	13
2001	PIT	OF	73	70	106	2	3	0
2001	SFN	1B	1	0	2	0	0	0
2001	SFN	OF	41	38	82	1	0	0
2002	NYA	1B	6	4	32	0	0	3
2002	NYA	OF	57	52	87	0	2	0
2003	MIL	OF	89	87	176	4	3	2
2004	CIN	1B	4	0	8	0	0	0
2004	CIN	OF	7	7	12	1	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
First Base	178
Left Field	237
Center Field	2
Right Field	353
Designated Hitter	32

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
2003	MIL	NL	$550,000
2002	NYA	AL	$1,850,000
2001	PIT	NL	$1,850,000
2000	PIT	NL	$875,000
1999	SDN	NL	$1,075,000
1998	COL	NL	$560,000
1997	COL	NL	$500,000
1996	COL	NL	$512,500
1995	COL	NL	$300,000
1994	COL	NL	$195,000
1993	MON	NL	$142,500
1992	MON	NL	$110,500
Total Career Earnings			$8,520,500