John Cotton (born October 30, 1970 in Houston, Texas) is an American former professional baseball player and an Olympic gold medalist in baseball. Cotton has played 15 seasons in minor league baseball, his last coming in 2003. Over his career, he has played in the Cleveland Indians organization (1989–1993), the San Diego Padres organization (1994–1995), the Detroit Tigers organization (1996), the Chicago White Sox organization (1997), the Chicago Cubs organization (1998), the Colorado Rockies organization (1999–2000), the Montreal Expos organization (2001), the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (2001), the Pittsburgh Pirates organization (2001), and independent league baseball (2002–2003). During the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Cotton won a gold medal as a member of the United States nationa