John Gall (baseball) - Professional Career

Professional Career

After a number of seasons at Single-A ball, Gall played the 2002 season for the New Haven Ravens, the Double-A affiliate of the Cardinals at the time. Here he hit 20 home runs and 81 RBI with a .316 batting average. In 2003, Gall spent his first season with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, and collected 16 home runs and 73 RBI with a .312 average, numbers which were improved in 2004, as he added six home runs and eleven RBI to his 2003 totals.

On July 26, after a promising start to the 2005 season in Memphis, Gall was promoted for the first time to the major league roster, to replace Larry Walker, who was on the disabled list. In his debut against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park, Gall proceeded to go 2-for-4 with a double. He was sent back down to Memphis eight games later on August 9 having collected four hits, two doubles, and two RBI in his first stint as a major-leaguer. On July 17, 2006, the Cardinals released Gall and he signed with the Lotte Giants in Korea. He signed with the Florida Marlins on January 4, 2007. Gall spent nearly the entire year with the Marlins Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, appearing in only 3 games for the Marlins.

Gall was named to the United States national baseball team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Gall's success in the olympics, most notably for his home run over Taiwan which helped the United States get to the Bronze Medal round, got recognized by notable people including an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, an invitation to the White House and serving as a guest of honor for California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In January 2009, Gall signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros.

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