Peter Johannessen

Peter Johannessen

• Bats Left, Throws Right

• Born October 30, 1984

Peter Johannessen followed his brother Björn Johannessen onto the Swedish national team. Peter went 1 for 8 with a double for the Leksand Lumberjacks in the 2003 Elitserien. In 2004, he batted .299/.420/.358 as the regular left fielder for Leksand. Johannessen hit .351/.431/.513 in limited action in '05, while lacking a set position.

In 2006, Peter batted .333/.415/.500 for Stockholm, primarily as a third baseman. During the '07 campaign, he hit .311/.401/.451 with Stockholm, alternating between center field and third base. In the 2007 European Championship, he was Sweden's big star, hitting .381/.435/.571, outperforming former minor leaguers like Tony Dermendziev and Adam Sorgi as well as players like his brother who were bigger stars in the Elitserien. He played primarily center field and third base.

In 2008, Peter hit .388/.473/.694 with 48 runs and 39 RBI. He made no errors and had four assists in 27 games in center field, his main position. He was 2nd in the league in runs, third in hits (52), second in doubles (19), 4th in slugging, 6th in average, tied for 4th in OBP and tied for third in home runs (5).

Johannessen batted .441/.568/.666 in 2009. He led the Elitserien in average, OBP, slugging, hits (45), steals (16, tied) and was 3rd with 31 RBI. He again played error-free ball, this time between center field, third base and shortstop.

In the 2009 Baseball World Cup, Peter was 3 for 11 with a solo homer off South Korea's Seung-lak Son to prevent a Swedish shutout. Only American import Adam Sorgi had a better average for the Swedes in that World Cup.

He signed with the Godo Knights in April 2010. He debuted in Italy on May 14, as a defensive sub in left field. He hit into a fielder's choice against Mihai Burlea in his first at-bat. He hit only .197/.237/.239 in 23 games for Godo. He finished the year back in Stockholm, hitting .425/.500/.666 the rest of the way. In the 2010 European Championship, he hit .259/.310/.556 with 6 runs and 6 RBI in eight games as Sweden's right fielder.

He signed with Germany's Mainz Athletics for 2011. On April 15, he debuted, going 1 for 3 with a double, two walks and 3 RBI in a 5-3 win over the powerhouse Buchbinder Legionäre.

Sources

• Elitserien stats
• Mister Baseball