Howard Johnson
Howard Michael "HoJo" Johnson (born November 29, 1960, in Clearwater, FL) was the hitting coach during the 1996 season for the Butte Copper Kings, Tampa Bay's Advanced-Rookie affiliate in the Pioneer League.
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Professional career
Best known for his days as an All-Star third baseman for the New York Mets, Johnson began his professional career as a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers system. He also played for the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs in a Major League career that spanned 1982 to 1995.
Career with Tampa Bay
In May, 1996, Tampa Bay announced Johnson's signing to their coaching staff and his assignment to Butte.[1] He presided over a Copper Kings team that had a collective .309 batting average, .380 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage and scored more than 7 runs per game.
Departure and afterward
Johnson had been assigned to the same position with the Devil Rays' new Class-A South Atlantic League affiliate, the Charleston RiverDogs for the 1997 season.[2] However, a month later he left the organization to pursue a comeback as a player by signing a minor league contract with the Mets.[3] Before the beginning of the regular season, Johnson ended his comeback attempt after a poor showing in Spring Training (4 hits, including 1 home run, in 31 at-bats).[4]
In October 1997, Johnson rejoined the Mets as a scout.[5] By 2001, he had returned to coaching with the Mets' Short Season New York-Penn League affiliate in Brooklyn[6], and took over that teams' managerial duties in 2002.[7]
Johnson remained in the Mets organization through the 2010 season, serving in various capacities: Hitting coach at Advanced-A St. Lucie of the Florida State League in 2003, Double-A Binghamton of the Eastern League in 2004, and Triple-A Norfolk of the International League in 2005 & 2006. From 2007 through 2010, he served as hitting coach for the Mets' Major League team. During an overhaul of the coaching staff following the 2010 season, Johnson left the organization.[8]
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Howard Johnson on Wikipedia
References
- ↑ Topkin, Marc (June 6, 1996). "Rays add HoJo as a coach". St. Petersburg Times: p. 1C.
- ↑ "Transactions - Baseball - Major League Baseball". The New York Times. January 10, 1997. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/10/sports/transactions-101923.html. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ "HoJo back with New York Mets". The Gainseville Sun: p. 2C. February 11, 1997. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=F8JWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=r-oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1610,2602139.
- ↑ Associated Press (March 27, 1997). "HoJo ends comeback attempt with Mets". Toledo Blade. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IrtAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BAQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6695%2C9486954.
- ↑ "Baseball: Notes". New York Times. October 11, 1997. "Howard Johnson, a former infielder and outfielder whose total of 192 home runs is second in Mets history, was hired as a professional scout working primarily out of California."
- ↑ Botte, Peter (December 14, 2000). "Mets GM takes cuts Tells A-Rod to move on". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/2000/12/14/2000-12-14_mets_gm_takes_cuts_tells_a-r.html. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ↑ Borden, Sam (June 18, 2002). "Hojo Debuts Tonight As Skipper Of Cyclones". NYDailyNews.com. New York Daily News. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-06-18/sports/18192204_1_brooklyn-cyclones-debut-howard-johnson. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ↑ Martino, Andy (February 17, 2011). "Howard Johnson, former New York Mets hitting coach, leaves organization". NYDailyNews.com. New York Daily News. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-02-17/sports/28628642_1_dave-hudgens-howard-johnson-jerry-manuel. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
