John Gall calls it a career and Round Rock comes from behind to take season finale
In the seventh inning, after lifting a scrifice fly in his the final at-bat of his career, ourfielder John Gall stopped just past the third base line and took his cleats off before heading to the dugout where he hung them on the railing as the home crowd gave him a standing ovation. Once he was done sharing a few moments with his teammates, Gall made his way back up the dugout steps for a curtain call that the fans were insistent he take. It was his final game as a professional baseball player and the fans showed their appreciation with the standing ovation that lasted several minutes.
Gall put together a solid final season with a .246 batting average with nine home runs, 19 doubles, and 45 RBI. His teammates made sure things would end happily as they sent him out a winner on this night with a come from behind win to close out the season.
Trailing 2-1 heading into the bottom of the eight inning, the Express (63-81) got busy with the bats. Yordany Ramirez led off with a single and Brian Esposito followed with a double down the third base line to set the stage for Matt Kata. And he delivered in the form of a single to right field, allowing both runners to cross the plate and give Round Rock the 3-2 win over Omaha (64-80).
It was Ramirez that helped Round Rock get out to an early lead when he singled sharply up the middle in the third inning and then stole second base. Esposito followed that sequence with a fly ball that allowed Ramirez to tag up and move over to third base before coming home on a Reggie Abercrombie sacrifice fly.
Omaha kept the game close and managed to tie the game in the sixth inning when Scott Thorman drove in Alex Gordon with a single to left field. They came right back in the seventh to take the lead when J.R. House's RBI single drove in Ben Tschepikow to give the Royals a 2-1 lead. Of course, the lead was short lived as the Express put together the rally in the eight to come way with the 3-2 win.
A look at the career of John Gall:
1998- Debuted for Stanford University. Batted .381 with 63 RBI and 15 home runs, Twice named a PAC 10 All-Star.
1999- Drafted by the Cleveland Indians but returned to Standford for his senior season.
2000- Drafted in the 11th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
2002- Promoted to Double-A New Haven Ravens where he bats .316 with 20 home runs and 81 RBI.
2003- Promoted to Triple A Memphis Rdbirds and bats .312 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI.
2005- Starts season in Memphis and is later promoted to the mahor leagues. In his debut against San Diego he goes 2-for-4 with a double. After eight games he is sent back down to Triple-A after picking up four hits, two doubles, and two RBI.
2006- Released by the St. Louis Cardinals and signs with the Lotte Giants in Korea.
2007- Signs with the Florida Marlins and is assigned to their Triple-A team. Appeared in three games with the Marlins.
2008- Named to the 2008 Olympic team. Helped the USA win the bronze medal with a home run against Taiwan.
2009- Signs minor league contract with the Houston Astros.
