Jerry Johnson (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Jerry Michael Johnson is a former Major League Baseball
pitcher
from through . He batted and threw right-handed.
as an amateur free agent
third baseman
in . He batted
.248 for their Western Carolina League
affiliate, the Salisbury Braves
in 1962, and committed seven errors in only 29 games for a .868 fielding percentage
. He batted .238 with an .872 fielding percentage in , and the Mets began experimenting with him on the mound. He made eleven pitching appearances for the California League
's Salinas Mets that season, and had a 6.75 earned run average
without a decision.
With an .870 fielding percentage in , the notion of Johnson as a third baseman was abandoned, and he was converted to a pitcher for good by the New York-Penn League's Auburn Mets
. He pitched in the Mets' minor league system through . Following the season, he was obtained by the Philadelphia Phillies
from the Mets in the 1967 minor league draft
.
against the Chicago Cubs
at Shibe Park. He gave up two earned run
s in one inning of the Phillies' 8-4 loss.
in a controversial transaction. On October 7, , he was sent by Philadelphia along with Dick Allen
and Cookie Rojas
to the St. Louis Cardinals in the same trade that brought Tim McCarver
, Byron Browne
, Joe Horner and Curt Flood
to the Phillies. After Flood refused to report to his new team, St. Louis sent Willie Montañez
and a minor leaguer to Philadelphia to complete the trade. Flood believed that Major League Baseball's reserve clause
was unfair and appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought solidarity among ballplayers as they fought against reserve clause and sought free agency
.
for Frank Linzy
. With the Giants, Johnson emerged as one of the top relievers in the National League
, finishing sixth in Cy Young award
balloting during an era when such an honor was rare for relief pitcher
s. In , Johnson went 12-9 with a 2.97 ERA and eighteen saves for the division winning Giants. In his only post-season, he pitched 1.1 innings and gave up two runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates
in game four of the 1971 National League Championship Series
.
, Johnson was selected off waivers by the Cleveland Indians
. After one season in the American League
, he was traded to the Houston Astros
for Cecil Upshaw
. He was released by the Astros at the end of the season, and signed with the San Diego Padres
in . After two seasons in San Diego, he was traded to the newly-created Toronto Blue Jays
for Dave Roberts, who had just been purchased by the Jays from the Padres. Johnson was the winning pitcher (as a reliever) in the Blue Jays first ever regular season game on April 7, 1977. Johnson went 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA in the Blue Jays' inaugural season, at the end of which, he retired.
Following his majors career, Johnson played for the St. Lucie Legends
of the Senior Professional Baseball Association
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
from through . He batted and threw right-handed.
Third baseman
Johnson was signed by the New York MetsNew York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
as an amateur free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
in . He batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.248 for their Western Carolina League
Western Carolina League
The first Western Carolina League was a class D league which ran from 1948-1952, then combined with the North Carolina State League to form the Tar Heel League in 1953. The second Western Carolina League was formed as a class A circuit in 1960...
affiliate, the Salisbury Braves
Salisbury Braves
The Salisbury Braves were a minor league baseball team in Salisbury, NC during the 1960–1962 seasons. They played in the Western Carolinas League and were affiliates of the Houston Colt .45s in 1961, and the New York Mets in 1962.-Year-by-year record:...
in 1962, and committed seven errors in only 29 games for a .868 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
. He batted .238 with an .872 fielding percentage in , and the Mets began experimenting with him on the mound. He made eleven pitching appearances for the California League
California League
The California League is a Class A Advanced minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
's Salinas Mets that season, and had a 6.75 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
without a decision.
With an .870 fielding percentage in , the notion of Johnson as a third baseman was abandoned, and he was converted to a pitcher for good by the New York-Penn League's Auburn Mets
Auburn Mets
* Location: Auburn, NY* League: New York-Penn League 1962-1966* Affiliation: New York Mets 1962-1966* Ballpark: Falcon Park...
. He pitched in the Mets' minor league system through . Following the season, he was obtained by the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
from the Mets in the 1967 minor league draft
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
.
Philadelphia Phillies
Johnson made his major league debut on July 17, in the first game of a doubleheaderDoubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
against the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
at Shibe Park. He gave up two earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
s in one inning of the Phillies' 8-4 loss.
Curt Flood trade
Johnson spent two years with Philadelphia, before moving to the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
in a controversial transaction. On October 7, , he was sent by Philadelphia along with Dick Allen
Dick Allen
Richard Anthony Allen is a former Major League Baseball player and R&B singer. He played first and third base and outfield in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s...
and Cookie Rojas
Cookie Rojas
Octavio Victor Rojas Rivas , better known as Cookie Rojas, is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and outfielder who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Royals. After retiring as a player he went on to both coach and manage in the...
to the St. Louis Cardinals in the same trade that brought Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
, Byron Browne
Byron Browne
Byron Ellis Browne is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Browne was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1963. In his first Major League at-bat, Browne lined out in the second inning of Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game. Browne had the dubious distinction of...
, Joe Horner and Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
to the Phillies. After Flood refused to report to his new team, St. Louis sent Willie Montañez
Willie Montañez
Guillermo Montañez Naranjo is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Even though he was productive, Montañez often carried the label "hot dog" for the whimsical manner in which he approached the game. After hitting home runs, he would trot very slowly around the bases, shuffling his feet on...
and a minor leaguer to Philadelphia to complete the trade. Flood believed that Major League Baseball's reserve clause
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
was unfair and appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought solidarity among ballplayers as they fought against reserve clause and sought free agency
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.
San Francisco Giants
He was 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA for the Cards when they dealt him mid-season to the San Francisco GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
for Frank Linzy
Frank Linzy
Frank Alfred Linzy was a Pitcher for the San Francisco Giants , St. Louis Cardinals , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies ....
. With the Giants, Johnson emerged as one of the top relievers in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, finishing sixth in Cy Young award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
balloting during an era when such an honor was rare for relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
s. In , Johnson went 12-9 with a 2.97 ERA and eighteen saves for the division winning Giants. In his only post-season, he pitched 1.1 innings and gave up two runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
in game four of the 1971 National League Championship Series
1971 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 2, 1971 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CaliforniaWith aces Gaylord Perry and Steve Blass taking the mound for their respective teams, Game 1 looked to be a pitchers duel. It sort of was for four innings; the Pirates struck for two in the top of the third when Dave...
.
Later career
During Spring trainingSpring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
, Johnson was selected off waivers by the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. After one season in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
, he was traded to the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
for Cecil Upshaw
Cecil Upshaw
Cecil Lee Upshaw Jr. was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who had a nine-year career...
. He was released by the Astros at the end of the season, and signed with the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
in . After two seasons in San Diego, he was traded to the newly-created Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
for Dave Roberts, who had just been purchased by the Jays from the Padres. Johnson was the winning pitcher (as a reliever) in the Blue Jays first ever regular season game on April 7, 1977. Johnson went 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA in the Blue Jays' inaugural season, at the end of which, he retired.
Following his majors career, Johnson played for the St. Lucie Legends
St. Lucie Legends
The St. Lucie Legends was a U.S. baseball team and one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989....
of the Senior Professional Baseball Association
Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over . The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule...
.
| Seasons | W Win (baseball) In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only... |
L | ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine... |
G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
GS Games started In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter... |
SV Save (sport) In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers... |
IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two... |
H | ER Earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run... |
R | HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08... |
K Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.... |
WP Wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or ball four, to advance.A wild pitch usually... |
HBP Hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:... |
| 10 | 48 | 51 | 4.31 | 365 | 39 | 41 | 770.2 | 779 | 369 | 422 | 63 | 389 | 489 | 37 | 7 |
External links
- Jerry Johnson at RetrosheetRetrosheetRetrosheet is a non-profit organization whose website features major league baseball box scores and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest from 1871–1872, 1874, 1911 NL, and 1918–2010...
- Baseball Library