Remembering former Major League player and manager Davey Johnson (1943-2025)

When Johnson hit a three-run home run, Baltimore had its second sevenrun explosion at the expense of the Twins. Davy Johnson, the starting second baseman for the dynastic Orioles clubs from the late 1960s and early7s and who later managed the 1986 Mets to a World Series title, has passed away. Johnson was impactful from the start as a 23-year-old defensive-minded second baseman for the Orioles in 1966. He appeared in 131 games and finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting as Baltimore won the pennant. He’d collected four hits in the Orioles 4ame sweep of the Dodgers in the fall classic. Blair is there. He takes it and the Orioles are the new world champion. In Johnson’s first six seasons as an everyday player, the Orioles averaged 97 wins per season, won four pennants, and two World Series titles. In that stretch, Johnson would win three Gold Glove awards, and be named to three All-Star teams. But after an injury riddled 1972 campaign, the Orioles dealt to the Braves in a sixplayer deal. of the trade. Johnson would later say, “It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me in baseball, and the big reason was joining Aaron, as in Henry Aaron.” Though Aaron refused any credit, Johnson would put together a historic offensive season at second base, swatting 43 homers, setting a then single season record for homers at the position. He joined with Daryl Evans and Aaron as the first trio of teammates ever to hit 40 home runs in a season. Davy Johnson, who played for four major league clubs, teamed with Henry Aaron in Atlanta in 1973 and 74 and with Sataru in Tokyo in 75 and 76. Johnson then returned to the majors in 77 and is now managing the New York Mets DA Farm Club in Jackson, Mississippi. Johnson would manage three seasons in the minor leagues, winning a league championship in each of his three stops. After managing the Mets AAA affiliate, the Tidewater, in 1983, Johnson was tabbed by Frank Cashion as the Mets new skipper ahead of the 1984 season. Started in ‘ 84. You know, we had a pretty good ball club. We’re young, some young pitchers, but we had a bunch of holes offensively and a little bit defensively. 85 came, we got a little bit better. Made a few offseason moves. And uh, you know, we went from 90 games to 98 wins. And I knew we had all the pieces. And uh, all I did was tell a guy in spring what I knew. We were just going to dominate and no doubt about it. It all came together in 1986 as the Amazins triumphed in an epic playoff run culminating in the fall classic. Got it. You know, it’s never over till it’s over. I think somebody said that. And this is what it’s all about. This is what it’s all worth sweating for. Johnson would continue to find success as a big league manager, but was never able again to recapture the magic of 86. In the 1988 NLCS, the heavily favored Mets fell to the upstart Dodgers in a sevengame series. He would later manage the Reds, Orioles, Dodgers, and Nationals, finding regular season success followed by postseason disappointment. Going back to the track to the wall and what happens here, he contends that a fan reaches up and touches it. Here comes Davy Johnson out to argue as Jeter comes across to tie the game. Billy Martin, Dusty Baker, and Buck Sho Walter are the only skippers besides Johnson to manage four different clubs to the playoffs. Johnson was twice named manager of the year in 1997 while skippering the Orioles and 15 years later in 2012 with the Nationals. His 562 winning percentage is top 10 all time among managers with at least 1,000 career victories. The baseball world mourns the passing of Davy Johnson.

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Major League player and manager Davey Johnson.

In 8 years with the Orioles from 1965-72, Johnson was a 3-time All-Star, won 3 Gold Glove Awards, and was part of four AL pennant winners and two World Series champions (1966 & 1970).

He earned a 4th All-Star appearance with the Braves in 1973, the year he hit 43 home runs, which stood as the single-season record for a second baseman until 2021.

After two seasons with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, Johnson finished his playing career in 1978 with the Phillies and Cubs.

Johnson managed the Mets from 1984-90 and led them to 5 consecutive 90-win seasons. The highlight of his Mets tenure was 1986, when the Mets won 108 games in the regular season and a World Series championship. The 7-game victory vs. the Red Sox is one of the most classic World Series in MLB history.

Johnson would go on to manage the Reds (1993-95), Orioles (1996-97), Dodgers (1999-2000) and Nationals (2011-2013). He won four division titles, twice winning Manager of the Year honors – once in the AL with the Orioles (1997) and again in the NL with the Nationals (2012). His career managerial record was 1,372-1,071 – a .562 winning percentage.

Johnson was 82 years old.

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