Johnny Knott

John David Knott

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.

• Born December 7, 1970 in St. Louis, MO USA

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Biographical Information

Johnny Knott played in the minor leagues and for the USA national team.

Knott began his professional career with the Atlanta Braves organization (signing as an undrafted free agent), and he hit .262/.421/.469 in 113 games for the Macon Braves in 1993. The corner infielder's 71 walks were second in the system, behind Ed Giovanola. He had a .287/.390/.477 batting line with 17 homers in 1994, fielding .986 at 1B but .893 at 3B. He was 4th in the South Atlantic League in runs (91), 4th in doubles (33), tied Nate Holdren for 9th in RBI (74), 8th with 38 steals (in 47 tries), 5th in OBP, 5th in slugging and 4th in OPS. In the Braes chain, he was second in runs (2 shy of Mike Warner), trailed only Jermaine Dye in doubles, tied for 6th in dingers, 5th in RBI (between Luis Lopez) and Bob Smith), second in steals (9 behind Wonder Monds), first in walks (66, 6 ahead of Warner) and second to Warner in OPS.

Moving up to the Durham Bulls, he recorded a .267/.401/.422 batting line with 11 homers in 1995. His 63 walks tied Ken Bonifay for 6th in the Carolina League and he led with 15 HBP; he trailed only Todd Betts and Mike Sweeney in OBP. His walks were 4th in the Atlanta system (between Mike Eaglin and Ron Wright). He then left the Braves system, and he signed with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. Knott blasted 15 homers with a .290/.454/.555 batting line in 1996; he had 82 runs, 80 RBI, 26 doubles and 77 walks in 84 games; he stole 20 bases while only being caught twice. He was second in the Northern League in runs (two behind Chad Akers), tied Steve Hosey for 5th in doubles, tied Mitch Lyden for third in RBI, led in walks (six more than Bob Leary), was third in OBP (after Terry Lee and Chris Powell), ranked 9th in slugging (between Mike Meggers and Brian Traxler) and was 5th in OPS (between Sean Hearn and A.J. Leday). The lone negative was his .907 fielding percentage. He was left off the Northern League All-Star team as Jose Peguero was picked as the DH.

He played 84 games with a solid .313/.431/.459 batting line in 1997. He extended his solid performance in 1998 as he hit .333/.452/.566 in 75 games, and he recorded a .284/.402/.531 batting line in 70 games in 1999. Knott also played 30 games with the Atlantic City Surf, but his batting line fell to .204/.345/.312. He then represented the USA (stocked that event with indy league stars) in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, hitting .278/.316/.306 while fielding .935 as the only third baseman they used in their nine games. He was 8-for-32 with the St. Paul Saints in 2000, and he announced his retirement.