| Ron Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Johnson managing thePawtucket Red Sox in 2009 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1956-03-23)March 23, 1956 Long Beach, California, U.S. | |
| Died: January 26, 2021(2021-01-26) (aged 64) Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 12, 1982, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 22, 1984, for the Montreal Expos | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .261 |
| Games played | 22 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| As player As coach | |
Ronald David Johnson (March 23, 1956 – January 26, 2021) was an Americanbaseball player,coach andminor leaguemanager. From 2012 through 2018, he managed theNorfolk Tides of theInternational League,Triple-Afarm system affiliate of theBaltimore Orioles.[1] His 2018 season with Norfolk was his 14th season as a Triple-A manager; Johnson formerly helmed thePawtucket Red Sox of the International League (2005–09), and theOmaha Royals (1998) andOmaha Golden Spikes (1999) of the Triple-APacific Coast League.
Johnson was afirst baseman for theKansas City Royals andMontreal Expos during his briefMajor League Baseball (MLB) playing career from 1982 to 1984. He threw and batted right-handed, and was listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 215 pounds (98 kg). Johnson was also a formerfirst base coach of theBoston Red Sox of MLB in 2010 and 2011.
Johnson was a native ofLong Beach, California. When in high school, he turned down football scholarships toUCLA andFresno State University, and instead chose to play baseball at Fresno State. Johnson was originally drafted by theCalifornia Angels in the 13th round of the1976 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. He was named to the1978 College Baseball All-America Team by theAmerican Baseball Coaches Association. He graduated from Fresno State before being drafted by theKansas City Royals in the 24th round, with the 595th overall pick, in the1978 MLB draft. He made his major league debut with the Royals on September 12, 1982.[2] On December 15, 1983, the Royals traded Johnson to theMontreal Expos forTom Dixon.[3]
Johnson played in 22 major league games over parts of three seasons,batting .261 with 12hits, including twodoubles and tworuns batted in. He played 830 games in the minor leagues, most of them at theTriple-A level.[4]
Shortly after his playing days ended in 1985, Johnson became a coach in the Royals' minor league system.[5] He served as a coach within the Kansas City organization for six seasons, before becoming a manager.[4]
Johnson made his managerial debut with theBaseball City Royals (Class A) of theFlorida State League in 1992.[6] He managed the Memphis Chicks for one season in 1994 leading them to a 75 win season. He wonTexas League Manager of the Year honors in 1995,[7] after guiding theWichita Wranglers (Double-A) to the playoffs.[8] Three years later, he reached Triple-A as manager of theOmaha Royals, and in 1999 he led that club to a first-place finish in thePacific Coast League.[9] In total, Johnson posted six winning seasons in his eight years managing in the Royals' organization.[6]
Johnson joined theBoston Red Sox organization in 2000 as manager of theSarasota Red Sox (Class A) of the Florida State League. In 2002, Johnson was promoted to Double-A as manager of theTrenton Thunder of theEastern League. When the Red Sox switched Double-A affiliations to thePortland Sea Dogs in 2003, he moved with them and was manager of the Sea Dogs for the next two seasons. His 2003 club went 72–70 and missed the Eastern League playoffs by just a game and a half. In 2004, Johnson once again had Portland near .500 for much of the year before finishing at 69–73 and in a tie for 4th-place in the Eastern League Northern Division. From 2005 to 2009, Johnson served as manager for Boston's Triple-A affiliate, thePawtucket Red Sox.[10]
On November 23, 2009, Johnson was appointed as first base coach for the major league Red Sox.[11] He held the post for two seasons, but on October 5, 2011, Johnson was fired from the Red Sox staff following the departure of managerTerry Francona.[12]
Johnson was next appointed manager of theNorfolk Tides, Triple-A affiliate of theBaltimore Orioles, and led them to back-to-back winning seasons in 2012 and 2013. In 2015, he managed the Tides to a division title and was named theInternational League Manager of the Year.[13] The 2018 campaign marked his seventh consecutive year as Norfolk's manager, and he holds the franchise record for games won as a manager (491).[13] During the year, Johnson was named the winner of the Orioles'Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award,[14] but at the close of the season, he was released by the Baltimore organization as it underwent a significant front-office transition amid the departures ofgeneral managerDan Duquette and managerBuck Showalter.[1]
Johnson's minor league managerialrecord was 1,752–1,770 (.497) over 25 seasons.[1][6][14]
Johnson and his wife, Daphne, had five children.[15]
His sonChris was drafted in the 37th round by the Red Sox in June 2003 but instead opted for college; and was later drafted by theHouston Astros. Primarily athird baseman, Chris Johnson spent a dozen years in professional baseball, including all or parts of eight seasons (2009–16) in the majors with five teams. He had a breakout season in 2013 with theAtlanta Braves, finishing second in theNational Leaguebatting race at .321. He also led the Braves indoubles (34) and finished second on the club inhits (165). Chris spent part of the 2017 season reunited with his father as a member of the Triple-A Tides in the Baltimore organization.[16]
Johnson took an emergency leave from his coaching duties with the Red Sox on August 1, 2010, after his youngest daughter was seriously injured when hit by a car while horse riding.[17] He missed the rest of the season but was able to return to the Red Sox at the outset ofspring training in 2011.[18]
Johnson died as a result ofCOVID-19 on January 26, 2021, at the age of 64.[19]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Memphis Chicksmanager 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Wichita Wranglersmanager 1995–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Omaha Royals/ Golden Spikesmanager 1998–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Trenton Thundermanager 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Portland Sea Dogsmanager 2003–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Pawtucket Red Soxmanager 2005–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Boston Red Soxfirst-base coach 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Norfolk Tidesmanager 2012–2018 | Succeeded by |
