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PLAY
BALL!
P
Former Major Leaguer
BringsBaseball and
Ministry to CIU
ormer Major League pitcher Jonathan Johnson
is looking for 30 baseball players who will make
Columbia International University history as the
school’s first baseball team to take the field in spring 2020.
But he’s not recruiting just anyone.
Johnson, who played six seasons in the Big Leagues, prays
that “God sends the right people.”
“I could get 30 guys to come in here tomorrow and fill up
jerseys,” Johnson said in an interview in the Moore Fitness
Center. “I’m praying that God sends the right 30 who
are a good fit for the school, a good fit for the program,
so we can put a quality team on the field, and be quality
individuals off the field.”
Johnson was selected in the first round, seventh overall,
in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft by the Texas
Rangers. His career would include playing for the Houston
Astros, San Diego Padres and in the Atlanta Braves system.
Johnson’s baseball career in college at Florida State
University was full of honors topped off with induction into
the Florida State Hall of Fame.
F
By Bob Holmes
Coach Jonathan Johnson
“
I think we have
an opportunity to do
some great things
here at CIU
.”
Coach Jonathan Johnson (top right)
uses baseball to reach children in Cuba
18
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CIU Today
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Spring 2019