Tim Johnson | |
---|---|
Infielder / Manager | |
Born: Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S. | July 22, 1949|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 24, 1973, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 28, 1979, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .223 |
Home runs | 0 |
Runs batted in | 84 |
Managerial record | 88–74 |
Winning % | .543 |
Teams | |
As player As manager |
Timothy Evald Johnson (born July 22,1949) is a former professional baseball player and manager. A shortstop and utility infielder in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1979,he became better known as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.
After signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1967 as a free agent,Johnson was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Rick Auerbach just as the 1973 season began while still a minor leaguer. Johnson played every day for the 1973 Brewers at shortstop,but lost his starting job next season to Robin Yount,thus forcing him to settle in as a utility infielder. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1978 season where he retired a year later with a lifetime .223 batting average in 516 career games.
After retiring as a player,Johnson spent the next 20 years as a scout,coach or minor league manager for the Dodgers,Montreal Expos,Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.
The Blue Jays named Johnson as their manager for the 1998 season following the firing of Cito Gaston and the interim management of pitching coach Mel Queen. Johnson beat out several higher-profile candidates,most notably Davey Johnson (no relation),Larry Bowa,and Buck Martinez.
Queen remained on as pitching coach under Johnson and the two reportedly feuded extensively,despite Johnson's reputation as a good communicator. Johnson also had rumoured differences with several of his players,including Pat Hentgen,Ed Sprague,and Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.
Despite this lack of chemistry,Johnson guided the 1998 Blue Jays to a respectable third-place finish in the AL East with an 88–74 record,just four games out of a tie for the wild card. It was the team's first winning season since they won two World Series in a row in 1992 and 1993.
This success was partly attributed to the stories Johnson would tell his players about his battle experiences in the Vietnam War. For example,he told Hentgen a story about his war experiences to get him to accept a different place in the pitching rotation. [1]
However,in late November 1998,Johnson told several Toronto newspapers all of these stories were completely made up. In truth,Johnson had been in the Marine Corps Reserve throughout the war,and trained mortarmen at Camp Pendleton,California,while playing in the Dodgers' farm system. He'd also claimed for over 20 years he had been an All-American high school basketball player,and turned down a scholarship to attend UCLA. [2]
During the 1998 baseball winter meetings,Johnson said admitting the truth was like having "a 50,000 pound weight" taken off his shoulders. He said he had lied because he felt guilty about going to spring training with the Dodgers while many of his friends fought in the war. He entered therapy,and called several of his players to apologize for lying. [3]
The Blue Jays were initially willing to stand by Johnson and let him return for 1999. During spring training,he apologized to the entire team,and later said that he did not seem to detect a credibility problem. However,the next month brought a steady diet of questions about Johnson's credibility,as well as outside attacks (Sprague,for instance,called Johnson a "liar" and a "backstabber"). [4] Finally,on March 17,less than a month before opening day,Blue Jays general manager Gord Ash fired Johnson and replaced him with Jim Fregosi. Ash said Johnson's presence had become so much of a distraction he felt he would have to fire Johnson "if not now ... 30 or 45 days from now." He decided he had to act in order to save the season. [5] After Johnson's one season at the helm,the Blue Jays failed to achieve an equal or better record than Johnson's 88–74 mark until 2015. [6] To date,it is Johnson's last job in Major League Baseball.
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
TOR | 1998 | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
Total [7] | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 0 | 0 | – |
Following his dismissal from the Blue Jays,Johnson spent seven seasons as manager in the Mexican League,with the Diablos Rojos del México in 1999-2002,Yaquis de Obregón in 2002-2003 and then with the Águilas de Mexicali in 2004-2005.
In 2003,Johnson became manager of the Lincoln Saltdogs of the Northern League. In 2006,the Lincoln team joined the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. On September 25,2008,Johnson resigned after six years. His career record as the Saltdogs' manager was 315–255.
On December 16,2008,Johnson was announced as the inaugural manager of the Golden Baseball League incarnation of the Tucson Toros. [8]
On November 12,2010,Johnson was announced as the second manager of the Lake County Fielders of the North American League. [9]
On July 9,2011,Johnson resigned from his Lake County Fielders Managerial Position [10]
Johnson later became field manager with the El Paso Diablos in 2012, [11] but the team folded in 2013.
Johnson coached in the Arizona Winter League as of 2017 and spent time in the California Winter League from 2010–2014 as an instructor and coach. He also coached the Algodoneros de San Luis of the Liga Norte de Mexico later in 2017,before he was promoted to manager of the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League on June 4,2017. [12] Taking over about halfway through the season,Johnson led the Pericos to their second straight championship appearance.
Johnson was named manager of the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League for the 2018 season. [13]
Johnson was announced as manager for the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League for the 2019 season. [14] However,he was fired 33 games into the season on May 13 after a 10-23 start to the season.
He was hired by the Bravos de León of the Mexican League for the 2020 season. The team posted a 29-37 record and did not make the playoffs. Johnson was dismissed by the team following the season.
Patrick George Hentgen is an American former professional baseball pitcher,and currently a special assistant with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Blue Jays,St. Louis Cardinals,and Baltimore Orioles from 1991 to 2004. In 1996,he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award.
Wilfredo Jose Ledezma Acosta is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Detroit Tigers,Atlanta Braves,San Diego Padres,Arizona Diamondbacks,Washington Nationals,Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chiba Lotte Marines. He bats and throws left-handed.
Daric William Barton is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics.
Melvin Douglas Queen was an American professional baseball player,manager,coach,scout and executive. He played all or part of nine seasons as an outfielder and pitcher in Major League Baseball,and also served for four seasons as a pitching coach. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
James Cory Snyder is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians,Chicago White Sox,Toronto Blue Jays,San Francisco Giants,and Los Angeles Dodgers,earning a total of $5.7 million. He was known for his powerful throwing arm. He is on the list of Major League Baseball career assists as a right fielder leaders and the list of college baseball career home run leaders. Starting in 2006,he has been a baseball coach and a manager in various minor leagues,and in 2020 also started working as an automobile salesperson in Lindon,Utah.
Willis Alexander Otáñez is an infielder who played for the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. He was born in Cotuí,Dominican Republic.
Jonathan David Leicester is a former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball.
Antonio Pedro Osuna is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher,who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers,Chicago White Sox,New York Yankees,San Diego Padres,and Washington Nationals during his 11-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career.
The Pericos de Puebla are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán. Established in 1938,the Pericos have won five Mexican League championships in 1963,1979,1986,2016 and most recently in 2023.
The 1996 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 20th season in franchise history. The season involved the Blue Jays finishing fourth in the American League East with a record of 74 wins and 88 losses. The Blue Jays had a losing record for the third consecutive season.
The 1993 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 17th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses. They were shut out only once in 162 regular-season games. The Blue Jays would repeat as World Series champions and become the first back-to-back champions since the 1977–1978 New York Yankees. The American League Championship Series would see the Blue Jays play the Chicago White Sox. After defeating the White Sox in six games,the Blue Jays would beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series,also in six games. The team would not qualify for the postseason again until the 2015 season.
Charles Lorenzo Bundy is an American former Minor League Baseball player and current manager of the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. He has held Major League Baseball coaching positions with the Colorado Rockies,Arizona Diamondbacks,Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins.
Alfonso Houston Jiménez González is a Mexican former professional baseball shortstop and coach who is currently the third base coach for the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League. Jiménez played in Major League Baseball from 1983 through 1988 for the Minnesota Twins,Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians.
Michael R. Crouse is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder. He was also a member of the Toronto Blue Jays organization,and has competed for the Canadian national baseball team.
Brandon Tyler Cumpton is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 9th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft and made his MLB debut for them in 2013. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology,where he pitched for the Yellow Jackets. Cumpton also played for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Breyvic JoséValera Henríquez is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals,Los Angeles Dodgers,Baltimore Orioles,New York Yankees,and Toronto Blue Jays,and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes.
Blake Shane Gailen is an American-Israeli hitting coach for the Arizona Complex League Dodgers and left-handed former professional baseball outfielder. He also plays for the Israel National Baseball Team.
JoséRenéÁlvarez Ramírez,known as Joe Alvarez,is a Cuban American baseball manager and a former utility infielder in Minor League Baseball. Listed at 5' 9" (1.75 m.),165 lb. (74 kg.),Alvarez batted and threw right handed.
Luis Gustavo Santos Paulino is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays.