Minor leagues (1992–1995)
Lawton signed with the Minnesota Twins on August 12,1991,after being selected by them in that year's draft. He began his professional baseball career in 1992 with the Gulf Coast League Twins of the rookie-league Gulf Coast League. That season,Lawton batted .260 with 39 runs scored,45 hits,eight doubles,three triples,two home runs,26 runs batted in (RBIs),20 stolen bases,and 27 walks in 53 games played. Amongst league batters,Lawton was third in runs scored,and fifth in stolen bases. [6]
During the 1993 season,Lawton was assigned to the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Class-A Midwest League. With the Wizards,he batted .285 with 50 runs scored,97 hits,21 doubles,three triples,nine home runs,38 RBIs,23 stolen bases,and 65 walks in 111 games played. He was tied for tenth in the league in caught stealing (15). [7]
In 1994,Lawton was assigned to play with the Class-A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle. He was named to the 1994 Florida State League All-Star Team. [8] [9] On the season,Lawton batted .300 with 79 runs scored,134 hits,30 doubles,one triple,seven home runs,51 RBIs,42 stolen bases,and 80 walks in 122 games played. He was tied for second in the league caught stealing (19),and walks;fourth in stolen bases;eighth in runs scored;and ninth in doubles. [10]
Major leagues (1995–2001)
Lawton began the 1995 season in the minor leagues with the Hardware City Rock Cats of the Double-A Eastern League. With the Rock Cats,he batted .269 with 75 runs,111 hits,19 doubles,five triples,13 home runs,54 RBIs,26 stolen bases,and 56 walks in 114 game played. The Minnesota Twins called Lawton up in September of that year. He made his debut in Major League Baseball (MLB) on September 5,against the Detroit Tigers. [11] In that game,Lawton struck out in one at-bat. [11] Lawton got his first hit of his major league career on September 6,against the Tigers. [11] On September 28,against the Cleveland Indians,Lawton hit his first career major league home run. [11] In the majors that year,Lawton batted .317 with 11 runs scored,19 hits,four doubles,one triple,one home run,and 12 RBIs in 21 games played. On defense with the Twins,Lawton played 12 games in center field,eight games in right field,and one game in left field. After the 1995 season,Lawton played in the Arizona Fall League. [12]
Before the 1996 season, Baseball Digest described Lawton as "very versatile" and stated that he had good arm speed and a "very live bat". [13] He started the season with the Twins,but was sent to the minor leagues in early May. [14] In the minors,Lawton played with the Triple-A Salt Lake Buzz. On May 20,Lawton returned to Salt Lake City after attending the funeral of his aunt. [15] In the minors,he batted .297 with 40 runs,63 hits,16 doubles,on triple,seven home runs,and 33 RBIs in 53 games played. Later in the season,Lawton returned to the majors with the Twins. In the majors,he batted .258 with 34 runs,65 hits,seven doubles,one triple,six home runs,42 RBIs,and 28 walks in 78 games played. On defense,Lawton played 60 games in right field,18 game in center field,and one game in left field.
In spring training during the 1997 season,Lawton was competing for the fourth outfielder spot on the Twins roster. [16] Lawton made the Twins roster out of spring training. On June 14,while the Twins were playing the Houston Astros at the Astrodome,Lawton left 38 tickets for his family,who were visiting from Gulfport,Mississippi. [17] In his first full season in MLB,Lawton batted .248 with 74 runs scored,114 hits,29 doubles,three triples,14 home runs,60 RBIs,and seven stolen bases in 142 games played. In the field,Lawton played 67 games in right field,58 in left field,and 23 in center field. He committed a combined seven errors,and made nine assists and 278 putouts.
Lawton struggled early during the 1998 season,but started playing better through the mid-season. [18] [19] On May 9,Lawton hit a grand slam against the New York Yankees,which led the Twins to an 8–1 victory. [20] Late into the season,Twins manager Tom Kelly commented that Lawton had improved well over the season,but still had more work to do before he would become a "winning player". [21] On September 1,Lawton hit a game-winning triple against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the bottom of the tenth inning. [22] At season's end,Lawton compiled a .278 batting average with 91 runs scored,155 hits,36 doubles,six triples,21 home runs,77 RBIs,and 16 stolen bases in 152 games played. On defense,he played 100 games in right field,47 in center field,and 12 in left field. He committed four errors;and made 12 assists,and 389 putouts as an outfielder. Amongst American League (AL) hitters that year,Lawton was tied for fourth in hit by pitches (15);ninth in walks (86),tenth in on-base percentage (.387),and tied for tenth in triples. [23]
Before the 1999 season,Lawton in the Twins failed to agree on a contract. [24] This led to arbitration proceedings,with Lawton requesting US$2.4 million. [24] The Twins countered with a US$1.7 million contract,which Lawton refused. [24] On April 18,1999,Lawton hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Twins the victory over the Cleveland Indians. [25] Todd Walker,the Twins infielder at the time,was Lawton's good friend since they met in the minors. [26] On June 8,Lawton shattered his eye socket in two places after being hit by a pitch from Cincinnati Reds pitcher Dennys Reyes. [27] Lawton played five rehab games in the minor leagues with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Twins,and the Class-A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle,batting a combined .500. Lawton made his return to the majors on July 18. [27] He wore a protective cage on his batting helmet until July 21,shedding it because it limited his vision. [28] During a game at the SkyDome against the Toronto Blue Jays,Lawton spat towards a 16-year-old fan who called him a racial slur. [29] The two later exchanged apologies. [29] Lawton potentially faced assault charges,but nothing was ever filed. [30] On the season,Lawton batted .259 with 58 runs scored,105 hits,18 doubles,seven home runs,54 RBIs,and 26 stolen bases in 118 games played. In the field,he played 103 games in right field,10 in left field,and six in center field. In all of his outfield games,Lawton committed four errors;and made three assists and 231 putouts.
During spring training in 2000,Lawton stated that his eye socket was fully healed after the injury he suffered in 1999. [31] On April 9,2000,Lawton failed to catch a ball hit by Carlos Beltrán in the seventh inning that would have kept Twins pitcher Eric Milton's perfect game bid alive. [32] In July,Lawton played on the AL team during the 2000 MLB All-Star Game. [33] In the game,Lawton appeared in two at-bats,getting one hit and driving in a run. [34] At season's end,Lawton compiled a .305 batting average with 84 runs scored,171 hits,44 doubles,two triples,13 home runs,88 RBIs,and 23 stolen bases in 156 games played. He played 83 games in right field,67 in left field,and three in center field. Defensively,Lawton committed five errors;and made four assists,and 278 putouts. Amongst AL batters,Lawton was tied for fifth in doubles. [35] After the season,he was named the Twins Player of the Year. [36]
In February 2001,Twins general manager Terry Ryan stated that he did not plan on trading Lawton,contrary to other reports. [37] Furthermore,Twins manager Tom Kelley stated that he did not expect Lawton would be traded under any circumstances. [37] It was noted in spring training in 2001 that Lawton had gained 14 pounds (6.4 kg). [38] Lawton was taken out of the Twins starting lineup in May,due to lack of production. [39] As a member of the Twins that year,he batted .293 with 71 runs scored,110 hits,25 doubles,10 home runs,51 RBIs,and 19 stolen bases in 103 games played.
