Jerry Johnson (baseball)
| Jerry Johnson | ||
|---|---|---|
Strikeouts 489 | | |
| Saves | 41 | |
| Teams | ||
| ||
Jerry Michael Johnson (December 3, 1943 – November 15, 2021) was an American professional
.Career
Third baseman
Johnson was signed by the
With an .870 fielding percentage in 1964, the notion of Johnson as a third baseman was abandoned, and he was converted to pitcher by the
Johnson pitched in the Mets minor league system through 1967.
Following the season, Johnson was obtained by the
Philadelphia Phillies
Johnson made his major league debut on July 17, 1968 in the first game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs at Shibe Park. He gave up two earned runs in one inning of the Phillies' 8–4 loss.[1]
Curt Flood trade
Johnson spent two years with Philadelphia, before moving to the
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 Giants 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 pitchers. In 1971, Johnson went 12–9 with a 2.97 ERA and eighteen saves for the division winning Giants. In his only post-season, he pitched 11⁄3 innings and gave up two runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates in game four of the 1971 National League Championship Series.[2]
Later career
During Spring training 1973, Johnson was selected off waivers by the Cleveland Indians. He was traded from the Indians to the Houston Astros for Cecil Upshaw at the Winter Meetings on December 3, 1973.[3] He was released by the Astros at the end of the 1974 season, and signed with the San Diego Padres in 1975. 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 Toronto from the Padres. Johnson was the winning pitcher (as a reliever) in the first-ever Blue Jays 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 major league career, Johnson played with the 1989 St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.
Johnson died from complications of
References
- ^ "Chicago Cubs 8, Philadelphia Phillies 4". Baseball-Reference.com. July 17, 1968. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates 9, San Francisco Giants 5". Baseball-Reference.com. October 6, 1971. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
- ^ Durso, Joseph. "4 Trades Made at Meetings," The New York Times, Tuesday, December 4, 1973. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- ^ "Former MLB player Jerry Johnson of Canyon Lake dies at age 77". CanyonLakeInsider.com. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ Glew, Kevin (November 15, 2021). "Jerry Johnson, winning pitcher in Blue Jays' first game, passes away at 77". CooperstownersInCanada.com. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Jerry Johnson Archived March 27, 2019, at the Wayback Machine at Baseball Gauge
- Jerry Johnson at Baseballbiography.com
- Jerry Johnson at Astros Daily
- Jerry Johnson at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)