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. He is now a coach for the West Michigan Whitecaps. 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. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the third round of the 1987 Major League Baseball Draft. Major league career Vander Wal made his major league debut with the Expos on September 6, , 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 , 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, , 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 in San Diego before moving on to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 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 , 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 , before moving on to the Milwaukee Brewers in , and the Cincinnati Reds in , 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 is a much more widely used tactic in the absence 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