Reed Johnson

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Reed Johnson
Johnson with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2007
Outfielder
Born: (1976-12-08) December 8, 1976 (age 48)
Riverside, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 17, 2003, for the Toronto Blue Jays
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 2015, for the Washington Nationals
MLB statistics
Batting average.279
Home runs65
Runs batted in408
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Reed Cameron Johnson (born December 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, and Washington Nationals.

College career

Johnson was born in

Temecula, in southern Riverside County. He attended Temecula Valley High School
, where he participated in baseball and soccer. He was an All-League and an All-County selection.

Johnson attended college at

Cal State Fullerton and was named an Academic All-American. He also set records by being the first Cal State Fullerton player to score 100 runs and collect 100 hits in a season. In 1998, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1]

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Johnson was drafted by the

runs batted in.[2] Johnson also won the American League Rookie of the Month Award for the month of September.[3]

He is one of only five batters, through August 2009, to have hit both a leadoff and walk-off home run in the same game (having done so in 2003), the others being

Victor Power (1957), Darin Erstad (2000), and Ian Kinsler (2009).[4]

Johnson extended his tenure with the Blue Jays on December 7, 2005, after signing a one-year extension worth $1,425,000.

At the start the

left field, as they had been for the previous two seasons. In a Toronto Star article, Johnson was quoted as saying, "I train so that I can play every day. I don't train to be a fourth outfielder, or there would be a lot less training. I wouldn't be waking up as early. I wouldn't be trying to be in the shape that I'm in. I know my body can take the pounding of an everyday season".[citation needed
]

In 2006, Johnson led all leadoff hitters in the American League with a .390 on-base percentage[5] and also had a .319 batting average.

One of Johnson's more dubious honors is his propensity for being

Tampa Bay Devil Rays and then again on April 29, 2006 against the New York Yankees, making Johnson the only player in history to be hit by a pitch three times in one game, three times in his career.[7][8]

In 2008, the Blue Jays acquired veteran Matt Stairs, again relegating Johnson to a platoon role. The Blue Jays signed all-star shortstop David Eckstein, and removed Johnson from his familiar role as leadoff hitter. The Blue Jays also signed outfielder Shannon Stewart to a minor league contract. Stewart, who played in 855 games for Toronto from 1995 to 2003, was a dependable and consistent force at the top of the Blue Jays lineup for many years, although by this point he was considered a liability in the field at times because of an injury suffered playing football, which greatly reduced his throwing strength. His presence at spring training made Johnson's role all the more uncertain. Johnson was released by the Jays on March 23, and replaced by Stewart.

Johnson with the Chicago Cubs in 2009.

Chicago Cubs

On March 25, he signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. Johnson platooned in center field with

hit by a pitch with the bases loaded on June 12, against the Atlanta Braves.[9] During a crucial game in the 2008 season against the Milwaukee Brewers, Johnson executed a perfect hard slide into second base that prevented a double play, and allowed the Cubs to take a one-run lead.[10] When Johnson returned to Rogers Centre to play the Toronto Blue Jays on June 13, 2008, he received a long standing ovation from Blue Jays fans.[11]

During a game early in the 2009 season, also against the Brewers, Johnson showed versatility on the field by catching a Prince Fielder drive that had cleared the wall, preventing the Brewers from tying the game on a grand slam. He was placed on the 15-day DL on July 30 that same year with a left foot fracture.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 1, 2010, Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to replace Juan Pierre as the team's fourth outfielder.[12] He appeared in 102 games with a .262 batting average during the season.

Johnson appears in the opening introduction sequence of

first base
is seen in the opening sequence; the exact game is not known. The shot of Johnson does not last more than two and a half seconds.

Chicago Cubs (second stint)

On January 12, 2011, Johnson signed a minor league contract to return to the Cubs organization that included an invitation to spring training.[13]

On April 20, Johnson hit a walk-off homer into the left-field seats off Luke Gregerson to defeat the San Diego Padres 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader. In 2011, he batted .309 in 246 at-bats.[14] Through 2011, he had the second-best career fielding percentage (.991) among all active major league left fielders, behind Ryan Braun.[15]

On December 21, 2011, Johnson re-signed with the Cubs on a one-year deal.[16]

Atlanta Braves

On July 30, 2012, Johnson was traded along with left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm to the Atlanta Braves for right-handed pitchers Arodys Vizcaíno and Jaye Chapman.[17][18]

On December 7, 2012, Johnson re-signed with the Atlanta Braves to a 1-year contract.[19]

Miami Marlins

On January 31, 2014, Johnson signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins.[20] On March 30, the Marlins selected Johnson's contract, adding him to their Opening Day roster.[21] He batted .235/.266/.348 with two home runs and 35 RBI in 113 games with the team.[22]

On February 17, 2015, the Marlins re-signed Johnson to another minor league contract.[23] He was released on March 30.[24]

Washington Nationals

Hours after being released by Miami, Johnson agreed to a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.[24] He appeared in 17 games for the Nationals in 2015 and hit .227. They re-signed him to a minor league contract after the season. He was released on April 3, 2016.[25]

Personal life

Growing up, Johnson participated in gymnastics. He resides in Temecula, CA.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "Reed Johnson #9 CF - Game Log[dead link‍]", ESPN. Retrieved on June 15, 2008
  3. ^ "Reed Johnson named American League Pepsi Rookie of the Month for September". Archived from the original on September 3, 2004. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  4. ^ Andro, Anthony, "Francisco goes back on DL because of pneumonia," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 20, 2009, accessed September 16, 2009
  5. ^ "2/14: Spring Training News and Notes". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  6. ^ "Toronto Blue Jays Top 10 Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  7. ^ "Blue Jays Single-Game Records". Toronto Blue Jays. Archived from the original on December 3, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2006.
  8. ^ "Devil Rays 9, Blue Jays 8". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  9. ^ "Cubs beat Braves 3-2 in 11 innings on hit batsman". Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  10. ^ "Lee doubles in go-ahead run in ninth in Cubs win". Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  11. ^ "Cubs can't make it five in a row". Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  12. ^ "Dodgers sign Johnson to one-year contract". MLB.com. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 5, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  13. ^ Links, Zach (January 12, 2011). "Cubs Sign Reed Johnson: MLB Rumors". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  14. ^ "Reed Johnson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  15. ^ "Active Leaders & Records for Fielding % as LF (s.1954)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  16. ^ @Ken_RosenthalKen Rosenthal (December 21, 2011). "Report: Cubs re-sign Reed Johnson". Csnchicago.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  17. ^ Nicholson-Smith, Ben (July 30, 2012). "Braves To Acquire Reed Johnson, Paul Maholm".
  18. ^ Carrie Muskat (July 30, 2012). "Cubs deal Maholm, Johnson to Braves". Archived from the original on August 2, 2012.
  19. ^ "Atlanta Braves Still Haven't Placed Timetable on Reed Johnson's Return". Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  20. ^ "Reed Johnson signs with Marlins". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 31, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  21. ^ "Marlins Designate Brady, Bogusevic For Assignment". mlbtraderumors.com. March 30, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  22. Baseball-Reference.com
    . Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  23. ^ "Marlins Re-Sign Reed Johnson". MLB Trade Rumors. February 17, 2015.
  24. ^ a b Gleeman, Aaron (March 30, 2015). "Marlins release outfielder Reed Johnson". hardballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  25. ^ Janes, Chelsea (April 3, 2016). "Nationals finalize opening day roster, release Sean Burnett and Reed Johnson". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
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