Athletes - Howard Johnson

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	Athletes - Howard Johnson

Howard Michael Johnson (born November 29, 1960), nicknamed HoJo, is a former switch hitting third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs from 1982 to 1995. He is second on the Mets' all-time lists for doubles and stolen bases and third on their all-time home runs and runs batted in list.

Notable achievements

Member of the 1984 World Series champion Tigers and the 1986 World Series champion Mets.
1992-1997: Held career National League record for home runs by a switch hitter.
1987-1996: Held single-season National League record for home runs by a switch hitter.
Three-time member of the 30-30 club (1987, 1989 and 1991). Only Bobby Bonds
and Barry Bonds
have reached the marks more often. Alfonso Soriano
is also a three-time member.
1987-1991: Second highest home run total in the National League behind only teammate Darryl Strawberry
.
1989 and 1991: Member of the National League All-Star team.
1989 and 1991: Winner of National League Silver Slugger award for third basemen.
Second on Mets all-time home run list from 1991 until 2004.
Second on Mets all-time RBI list from 1993 until 2005.
1991: Became the only Met to lead the National League in RBI.
1991: Became the first switch-hitter to lead the National League in RBI. Lance Berkman
became the second in 2002.

Early career (through 1982)

Johnson was born in Clearwater, Florida and attended Clearwater High School playing baseball as a pitcher. He attended St. Petersburg College and, at age 17, was drafted in the 23rd round of the 1978 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. He didn't sign and, the following year, was drafted in the 1st round — 12th overall — by the Tigers.

In the minor leagues, the Tigers soon converted Johnson from a pitcher to an infielder and, in 1981, he hit 22 home runs for the AA Birmingham Barons. He was promoted all the way to Detroit to start 1982 but was hitting only .188 in early May when he was sent back to AAA.

Detroit and a championship (1984)

1984 was the pinnacle of a slow upward trend for Detroit who had a winning record the past six seasons but failed to make the postseason each time. One of their biggest question spots going into 1984 was third base where Tom Brookens had hit only .214 the season before and Johnson's average was two points lower in very limited time. Brookens hit right-handed while Johnson hit far better from the left side so manager Sparky Anderson chose to platoon them at third. Although Johnson was the unproven 23-year-old, he started well, hitting nearly .300 for the first few weeks while Brookens started 0-for-12 and barely reached .200 for the first month. As a result, Johnson got most of the starts during the regular season with Brookens mostly pinch-hitting and playing the late innings. Unfortunatly for Johnson, his average dropped by over thirty points in the second half which cost him a chance at contributing in the postseason. Anderson instead used the trio of Brookens, Marty Castillo, who split his time between third and catcher, and veteran slugger Darrell Evans, who had rarely played third the previous two years. Johnson wound up with only a single pinch-hit at bat in the 1984 World Series and no appearances in the 1984 American League Championship Series as the Tigers devoured both opponents en route to the second-most lopsided postseason of the 1980s.

After the season, Detroit parted ways with Johnson, trading him to the New York Mets for pitcher Walt Terrell. The move puzzled many Mets observers who felt that third base — often noted for being a revolving door for the franchise — had finally become somewhat stable with budding prospect, Hubie Brooks. In August 1984, they acquired veteran third baseman, Ray Knight, from the Houston Astros and he performed well as a backup. When Johnson, yet another third baseman, was acquired in December — by trading away a young pitcher no less — it seemed the position had become overcrowded. The trade reasoning became very clear three days later when the Mets traded the popular Brooks to the Montreal Expos in a blockbuster trade to acquire superstar catcher, Gary Carter.

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Athletes - Howard Johnson

Notable achievements

Early career (through 1982)

Detroit and a championship (1984)

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