American baseball player (born 1976)
Baseball player
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
[
edit
]
Johnson was born in
Riverside, California
and grew up 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
[
edit
]
Toronto Blue Jays
[
edit
]
Johnson was drafted by the
Toronto Blue Jays
in the 17th round of the
1999 MLB Draft
. In the minors, he was a
Southern League
All-Star in 2001 with the
Tennessee Smokies
, while hitting .314 with 13 home runs and 74 RBI. Johnson made his Major League debut on April 17, 2003 against the
New York Yankees
as a
pinch runner
. He recorded his first major league hit on April 20, 2003 against
Boston Red Sox
pitcher
Casey Fossum
and his first home run on May 17, 2003 against
Jeremy Affeldt
of the
Kansas City Royals
. He finished his rookie season, with a .294
batting average
, 10
home runs
, and 52
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
Billy Hamilton
(1893),
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
2006
season, Johnson was platooned with
Frank Catalanotto
in
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
hit by pitches
. Consistently among the Blue Jays leaders in being hit, in 2006 Johnson moved past
Ed Sprague
to take second on the Blue Jays all-time hit by pitch list, trailing only
Carlos Delgado
.
[6]
He is also one of several players to be hit a major-league record three times in one game; Johnson was hit three times in a game against the
Texas Rangers
on April 15, 2005. He equaled this feat again on April 7, 2006, against the
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
[
edit
]
On March 25, he signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. Johnson platooned in center field with
Jim Edmonds
(as well as
Felix Pie
to start the season). Johnson "batted in" a game-winning run after he was
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
[
edit
]
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
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
as a Dodger player. As the announcer introduces The Tonight Show, game footage of Johnson
hitting
a ball and running to
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.
Second stint with the Cubs
[
edit
]
On January 12, 2011, Johnson signed a minor league deal to return to the Cubs with 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
[
edit
]
On July 30, 2012, Johnson was traded along with left-handed pitcher
Paul Maholm
to the
Atlanta Braves
for right-handed pitchers
Arodys Vizcaino
and
Jaye Chapman
.
[17]
[18]
On December 7, 2012, Johnson re-signed with the Atlanta Braves to a 1-year contract.
[19]
Miami Marlins
[
edit
]
On January 31, 2014, Johnson signed a minor league contract with the
Miami Marlins
.
[20]
He batted .235/.266/.348 with 2 home runs and 35 RBIs in 113 games with the team.
[21]
On February 17, 2015, the Marlins re-signed Johnson to another minor league contract.
[22]
He was released on March 30.
[23]
Washington Nationals
[
edit
]
Hours after being released by Miami, Johnson agreed to a minor league contract with the
Washington Nationals
.
[23]
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.
[24]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Growing up, Johnson participated in
gymnastics
. He resides in Temecula, CA.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League"
(PDF)
. capecodbaseball.org
. Retrieved
January 9,
2020
.
- ^
"
Reed Johnson #9 CF - Game Log
",
ESPN
. Retrieved on June 15, 2008
- ^
"Reed Johnson named American League Pepsi Rookie of the Month for September"
. Archived from
the original
on September 3, 2004
. Retrieved
May 3,
2009
.
- ^
Andro, Anthony, "Francisco goes back on DL because of pneumonia,"
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
, July 20, 2009, accessed September 16, 2009
- ^
"2/14: Spring Training News and Notes"
. Archived from
the original
on February 25, 2012
. Retrieved
May 3,
2009
.
- ^
"Toronto Blue Jays Top 10 Batting Leaders"
. Baseball-Reference
. Retrieved
May 3,
2009
.
- ^
"Blue Jays Single-Game Records"
. Toronto Blue Jays. Archived from
the original
on December 3, 2006
. Retrieved
August 8,
2006
.
- ^
"Devil Rays 9, Blue Jays 8"
. Yahoo! Sports
. Retrieved
May 3,
2009
.
- ^
"Cubs beat Braves 3-2 in 11 innings on hit batsman"
. Retrieved
May 3,
2009
.
- ^
"Lee doubles in go-ahead run in ninth in Cubs win"
. Retrieved
May 3,
2009
.
- ^
"Cubs can't make it five in a row"
. Retrieved
July 28,
2009
.
- ^
"Dodgers sign Johnson to one-year contract"
.
MLB.com
. Feb 1, 2010. Archived from
the original
on February 5, 2010
. Retrieved
February 2,
2010
.
- ^
Links, Zach (2011-01-12).
"Cubs Sign Reed Johnson: MLB Rumors"
. MLBTradeRumors.com
. Retrieved
2012-05-28
.
- ^
"Reed Johnson Statistics and History"
. Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
2012-05-28
.
- ^
"Active Leaders & Records for Fielding % as LF (s.1954)"
. Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
2012-05-28
.
- ^
@Ken_RosenthalKen Rosenthal (2011-12-21).
"Report: Cubs re-sign Reed Johnson"
. Csnchicago.com. Archived from
the original
on 2013-01-20
. Retrieved
2012-05-28
.
- ^
Nicholson-Smith, Ben (July 30, 2012).
"Braves To Acquire Reed Johnson, Paul Maholm"
.
- ^
Carrie Muskat (July 30, 2012).
"Cubs deal Maholm, Johnson to Braves"
.
- ^
"Atlanta Braves Still Haven't Placed Timetable on Reed Johnson's Return"
.
- ^
"Reed Johnson signs with Marlins"
.
ESPN.com
. Associated Press. January 31, 2014
. Retrieved
January 31,
2014
.
- ^
"Reed Johnson Statistics and History"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
February 18,
2015
.
- ^
"Marlins Re-Sign Reed Johnson"
.
MLB Trade Rumors
. 17 February 2015.
- ^
a
b
Gleeman, Aaron (March 30, 2015).
"Marlins release outfielder Reed Johnson"
.
hardballtalk.nbcsports.com
. Retrieved
March 30,
2015
.
- ^
Janes, Chelsea (April 3, 2016).
"Nationals finalize opening day roster, release Sean Burnett and Reed Johnson"
.
washingtonpost.com
. Retrieved
April 3,
2016
.
External links
[
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]