Mike Lansing

Mike Lansing
Second baseman
Born: April 3, 1968 Rawlins, Wyoming
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 7, 1993, for the Montreal Expos
Last MLB appearance
September 8, 2001, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average	.271
Home runs	84
Runs batted in	440
Teams
Montreal Expos (1993–1997) Colorado Rockies (1998–2000) Boston Red Sox (2000–2001)

Michael Thomas Lansing (born April 3, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and the Boston Red Sox between 1993 and 2001. Lansing also played one season in the Cleveland Indians farm system before retiring after the 2002 season.

Drafting

Utilizing a never-before-used rule, Lansing was drafted out of Wichita State University late in the 6th round of the 1990 MLB Draft by the Miami Miracle, an independent minor league team. Lansing played two seasons with the Miracle before making the major league with the Expos in 1993.

Career

Lansing was quickly placed in the lineup early on in 1993 as a second baseman. In one of his first-ever games, Lansing had five hits in a win over the Rockies. Lansing would have never been inserted into the lineup if Delino DeShields had not contracted chicken pox.

In 1999, Lansing accompanied Denver Police on a fatal SWAT raid that killed Ismail Mena. The team was at the wrong address.^[1]

In 2001, while playing with Boston, Lansing made a fine catch for the 2nd to last out helping to preserve Hideo Nomo's no-hitter vs. the Baltimore Orioles.

Lansing had his best season in 1996, finishing with a .285 batting average and 183 hits in 159 games. Lansing also had 40 doubles that season, placing 6th.

In 1997 Lansing had another strong season, with career bests in home runs, 20, and RBIs, 70. On May 7, 1997, in a game against the San Francisco Giants, Lansing became the first National League second baseman since Bobby Lowe in 1894 to homer twice in the same inning. Lansing also became the third Expo to do so. After the '97 season, Lansing was traded to the Colorado Rockies for a couple of minor leaguers.

Lansing had a couple of disappointing seasons with the Rockies as injuries took their toll. Then, on June 18, 2000, in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lansing hit for the cycle faster than any player in MLB history, completing it by the fourth inning in a 19–2 win. A little more than a month later, Lansing, along with a couple of pitchers, were traded by the Rockies to the Boston Red Sox. He played a couple of mediocre seasons with the Red Sox before being released into free agency after the 2001 season. Lansing was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Indians, but played in the minors and suffered a back injury before retiring after the 2002 season.

Mike Lansing Field, the stadium that is the home field of the Casper Ghosts Pioneer League baseball team in Casper, Wyoming, is named for Lansing.

His at-bat entry song while playing with the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium was "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne.

Career Stats

Year	Age	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1993	25	Montreal Expos	NL	141	491	64	141	29	1	3	45	23	56	.287	.352	.369	.721
1994	26	Montreal Expos	NL	106	394	44	105	21	2	5	35	12	37	.266	.328	.368	.696
1995	27	Montreal Expos	NL	127	467	47	119	30	2	10	62	27	65	.255	.299	.392	.691
1996	28	Montreal Expos	NL	159	641	99	183	40	2	11	53	23	85	.285	.341	.406	.746
1997	29	Montreal Expos	NL	144	572	86	161	45	2	20	70	11	92	.281	.338	.472	.810
1998	30	Colorado Rockies	NL	153	584	73	161	39	2	12	66	10	88	.276	.325	.411	.736
1999	31	Colorado Rockies	NL	35	145	24	45	9	0	4	15	2	22	.310	.344	.455	.799
2000	32	Colorado Rockies/Boston Red Sox	MLB	139	504	72	121	18	6	11	60	8	75	.240	.292	.365	.657
2001	33	Boston Red Sox	AL	106	352	45	88	23	0	8	34	3	50	.250	.294	.384	.677

Mitchell Report

On December 13, 2007 former senator George Mitchell released his report to the commissioner of Major League Baseball concerning the use of illegal steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. The following is an excerpt of the report referring to Lansing.

"According to [Kirk] Radomski, he was introduced to Lansing by David Segui while Segui and Lansing played together with the Expos. Radomski recalled that he engaged in four to five “small transactions” with Lansing. Radomski said that Lansing was familiar with testosterone and “knew exactly what he wanted.” Radomski produced two $1,000 money orders from Lansing, retrieved from his bank, made payable to Radomski; both were dated February 5, 2002... Radomski stated that this payment was for testosterone and one kit of human growth hormone. During the search of Radomski’s residence, an undated, partial shipping label was seized with Lansing’s name on it and a Colorado address. We have confirmed that Lansing resided at this address when he played with the Rockies. Lansing’s name, with an address and two telephone numbers, is listed in the address book seized from Radomski’s residence by federal agents."

See also

• Hitting for the cycle
• List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report

References

1. Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko, PublicAffairs, 2013, Kindle Location 5200

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube