Remember first baseman Dan Johnson? Across parts of 10 big-league seasons, he hit 57 home runs and put up an OPS+ of 99. He played in 12 games for the Cardinals last season, and it seemed that the 36-year-old's career was over.
Insofar as the Rays are concerned, Johnson has franchise-legend status thanks to this clutch bomb in the final game of the 2011 regular season ...
Regarding Johnson and the Rays, now there's this ...
Knuckleballer! As Topkin writes in the pages of the Tampa Bay Times, Johnson has been throwing the knuckleball since childhood and has even tried out as a pro. This, though, is his first genuine effort to master the elusive pitch. Obviously, the knuckleball is a pitch that doesn't call upon the usual complement of pitching skills, so it's the best option for a longshot like Johnson. No, this probably won't work out, but it makes for a compelling spring sub-sub-plot.