Opinion: Davey Johnson’s impact in baseball included the global stage

Davey Johnson (Jeff Marquis, Wikimedia Commons)

A week ago, we discussed the recent death of Davey Johnson of Orlando, Florida. North American baseball fans remember Johnson the most from his time managing the New York Mets at the 1986 World Series. However, Johnson was active in baseball at a global level outside North America. I remember him clearly one particular moment 22 years ago.

During Johnson’s playing career, he actually played two seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Central League. Expectations were high and things did not go according to plan the first year. Despite batting .261 in his Major League Baseball career, Johnson only batted .197 in 1975, three points below the Mendoza Line. A year later, Johnson had 26 home runs. However, according to Baseball Reference, the 1976 season was a controversial one for Johnson. It was all about what doctor should see Johnson’s injured thumb for diving into second base. The Giants initially opposed Johnson returning to the United States to see a specialist. Johnson did go to the USA to have his thumb examined, returned to Japan, and had a great finish to the season.

Johnson also managed the Netherlands at the 2003 World Port Tournament, and to a gold medal at the 2003 European Baseball Championships. The latter was a tournament also attended by myself in the Netherlands. I got ill on the plane, and spent a lot of time in washrooms at the stadium. In one particular encounter, many members of the Netherlands National Team went to the washroom the same time as me. I clearly remember Johnson at this particular occasion going over a particular game plan with his coaching staff. My guess is so he could not be heard outside the washroom walls. Little did he know who he was sharing the washroom with!

Johnson also managed the United States internationally. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and the gold medal at the 2007 Baseball World Cup in Tianmu, Taiwan.