Davey Johnson, Pilot Of ‘86 Mets Champs, Leaves Great Legacy

Davey Johnson led the 1986 Mets to the second world championship in their history. (Photo by: Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Davey Johnson did not live to see himself enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Johnson, whose name will be considered again when the Eras Committee considers managers, died Friday at age 82.

One of just three managers to take four different teams into postseason play, Johnson compiled a .562 winning percentage, 10th-best among managers who won at least 1,000 games (the other nine are already enshrined in Cooperstown).

Five Misses

The Eras Committee, an off-shoot of the old Veterans Committee, has rejected Johnson five times over the last 15 years but is likely to consider him again a year from December when it meets again to consider managers. He will need 12 of its 16 votes for the 75 per cent required for election.

As a player, the hard-driving Johnson was a slugging infielder who once hit 43 home runs in a season and was part of the first trio of teammates top 40, along with Hank Aaron and Darrell Evans of the 1973 Atlanta Braves.

Johnson played from 1965-78 and was the second baseman for Baltimore teams that won four pennants and two world championships.

He later managed several teams, winning the 1986 World Series with the New York Mets and another National League East title two years later. Johnson later won division titles with the 1997 Orioles, 2012 Washington Nationals, and 1995 Cincinnati Reds and reached the playoffs with the wild-card Orioles of 1996.

Johnson, who also managed the Los Angeles Dodgers, won Manager of the Year honors in both leagues.

Team USA Medal

Highly-regarded as a strategist and team leader, he took Team USA to its first medal finish in a World Baseball Classic, finishing third in 2009.

One of the first computer-savvy managers, Johnson was a math major at Trinity University who applied his knowledge into game-changing decisions – now known as analytics.

As a player, he won three Gold Gloves, made four All-Star teams, and played in four World Series – winning all but one.

Fine Fielder

In 13 years, he hit .261 with 136 home runs but was best known for his defensive prowess, especially when teaming with shortstop Mark Belanger in Baltimore. Johnson also played for Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the Chicago Cubs.

He was with the Braves when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record on April 8, 1974. Johnson then became a teammate of Sadaharu Oh, Japan’s home run king, while spending two seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball.

He then performed the rare feat of returning to the U.S. majors after ostensibly finishing his career in Japan, spending 1977 and 1978 as a utilityman with the Phils and Cubs.

Because his career primarily predated the advent of free agency, Johnson made much more money as a manager than he did as a player.

His peak salary came during his term with the Orioles, who signed him to a three-year, $2.25 million deal that started in 1996.