The Winningest Manager In Mets History: Davey Johnson (1984-1990)

David Allen Johnson was born January 30, 1943 in Orlando, Florida. He went to high school in San Antonio Texas & then attended college at Texas A & M for one year. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1962, hitting over .300 three times at various minor league levels getting promoted to the Orioles in 1965. Davey was in the opening day lineup that year but spent most of the season in the minors once again batting over .300. In 1966 the Orioles traded their second baseman Jerry Adair to make room for Johnson, he would be the Orioles regular second baseman for the next seven seasons.
He came in third in the 1966 Rookie of the Year voting, mostly for his defense. That season the Orioles swept the Dodgers in the World Series & Johnson was the last batter to ever get a hit off Sandy Koufax. By the late sixties he became a good hitter as well as a good glove man. He would win three straight Gold Gloves (1969-1971), make four All Star teams, play in four World Series and win two Worlds Championships.

Johnson was part of one of the greatest defensive infields ever assembled with him at second, Brooks Robinson at third, & Mark Belanger at shortstop. In 1969 & 1971 Johnson, Belanger & Robinson (who won 16 straight Gold Gloves) anchored by Boog Powell at first base. Johnson led the league once in fielding %, & came in the top five, five times.

Johnson hit well for a second baseman of his generation, hitting over 20 doubles eight times, including two seasons with 30 plus. He drove in over 50 runs seven times, and hitting over 10 HRs five times. He hit over .280 three straight seasons, with Baltimore getting to the World Series each time. His best offensive numbers in Baltimore came in 1971, when he hit .282 with 18 HRs 26 doubles 72 RBIs & a .350 on base%.


Post Season: In the 1966 World Series, Davey hit .286 (4-14). In Game #2 Johnson had two hits, driving in a run in the Orioles 6-0 win. In the 6th inning Johnsons single became the last a hit Sandy Koufax would ever give up, since he retired due to arm troubles after the season.

In the 1969 World Series Johnson was stopped dead by Mets pitching batting .063 going 1-16. He made the last out of the Series batting against Jerry Koosman, and flying out to left fielder, Cleon Jones. After being shocked by the Mets in 1969, the O’s were back in 1970 and no one stopped them. Davey hit .364 in the ALCS with 2 HRs 4 RBIs & a .364 on base % against the Minnesota Twins.

In the World Series vs. the Reds he hit .313 with 5 walks posting a .476 on base %. He had a big Game #5 with three hits, a walk and two RBIs as Baltimore went on to win 9-3, taking the Series four games to one. In the 1971 ALCS against Oakland, Johnson hit .300, 3-10 with two doubles, three walks & a .462 on base %. In the World Series he batted just .148 as the Pirates beat the Orioles in seven games. He would make one more post season appearance with the 1977 Phillies losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS.

After he dropped off to a .221 average with just five HRs in 1972, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves with pitcher Pat Dobson, Roric Harrison, and Johnny Oates for the 1971 Rookie of the Year, Earl Williams. The Orioles had traded him because manager Earl Weaver felt that Johnson had lost too much range on the field by bulking up and hitting for more power. The O’s went with Bobby Grich to replace him at second base.

In Atlanta he had an incredible 1973 season, hitting 43 HRs (second in the NL) with 25 doubles 99 RBIs (7th in the NL) & a .270 batting average. That season, he and team mates Hank Aaron & Darrel Evans became the first trio to each hit over 40 HRs on the same team. Johnson also broke Rogers Hornsby HR mark for a second baseman in a single season. 

Defensively he led the NL in double plays, was second in assists & fourth in put outs. The year before he had the A.L.’s best fielding percentage but in 1973 he would lead all second baseman in errors. In 1974 he split time at second & first base hitting .251 with only 15 HRs. He was in the lineup, the night Hank Aaron broke the all time HR mark with 715 that April. 

Four games into the 1975 season, the Braves released him & he went to play in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants for two seasons. There he was a teammate of Sadaharu Oh, who also broke Babe Ruth & Hank Aarons HR mark on an international level.

He had a disappointing season in first year overseas batting .197 with 13 HRs, improving to a.275 batting average with 26 HRs the next year. Johnson made it back to the majors in 1977 with the Phillies as a utility man and pinch hitter (9-for-26) He hit .321 with 8 HRs in 156 at-bats and in 1978 he tied an MLB record with two pinch grand slams. In his 13-year career, Johnson batted .261 with 1252 hits 136 HRs, 609 RBIs 242 doubles 18 triples 33 stolen bases & a .340 on base % in 1435 games.

 
Johnson began managing in 1979 with an Independent team in Florida. The next season he joined the Mets minor league staff and became manager of the Tidewater Tides in 1981. He led the Tides to three straight pennants, developing many young players he would later manage in the major leagues with the Mets.

He moved up through the organization quickly, over what first appeared to be more experienced managerial candidates. Johnson had earned a math degree and was one of the first people to use computers to compile baseball data. He learned the art of batter-pitcher matchups for platooning and in-game switches from his old Orioles skipper, Earl Weaver. Johnson dislikes the bunt and believed in solid pitching, three-run HRs & "play for one run, lose by one run."

In 1984 his old friend Frank Cashen now the Mets GM, gave Johnson the job as the Mets manager. In his first season he took the club from last place to a second place 90 win season. In 1985 he improved the team to a 98 win season but finished second to Whitey Herzog & the St. Louis Cardinals. He was familiar with the young talent the Mets had because he had managed many of them at Tidewater and knew what they could do. He had faith in them and gave them a chance. His easy going style was also a good mix for the veterans on the team.

In 1986 he brought the Mets to their best season ever, winning 108 games & winning the World Series. It was the Mets first post season appearance since 1973. He went on to become the first NL manager to win at least 90 games in each of his first five seasons, winning the World Championship in 1986 and the NL East in 1988. His clubs would finish second in all other five seasons he was at the helm.

Johnson is by far the most successful manager in Mets history, with only Gil Hodges even coming close. He has a Mets record of 595-417 and a .588 winning percentage. He is fourth all time behind Joe, McCarthy Miller Huggins, John Mcgraw & Billy Martin (tied) in winning percentage for New York baseball managers.

The Mets were expected to win more than one World Series in the late eighties. Second place finishes were not enough for the fans or Mets management. Looking back, injuries, the aging of veterans Keith Hernandez & Gary Carter, the drama issues of Gooden & Strawberry were all reasons for the Met decline. But, the manager was held responsible, and during a 1990 Cincinnati road trip, Frank Cashen came to his hotel room and fired him. Johnson was let go after 42 games with a 20-22 record.

Mets management told the press his laid back style wasn’t cutting it anymore. After Johnson was let go, Bud Harrelson was named manager & took the team to a 71-49 record, to another second place finish. The next season they finished fifth & had five more terrible seasons.

After two seasons out of baseball, the Cincinnati Reds hired Johnson 40 games into the 1993 season. He revived the Reds immediately, leading them to the NL Central lead up to the 1994 players' strike. In 1995 Ray Knight was named bench coach with the intention he would replace Johnson after the season regardless of how the team did. The Reds went on to win the first NL Central title but Johnson was still fired at the end of the season. He had never gotten along with Reds owner Marge Schott & the final straw supposedly was that she didn't approve of Johnson living with his –fiancée Susan, whom he later married.

Johnson returned to Baltimore as the Orioles' manager, under owner Peter Angelos. He & Johnson didn’t get along either and the two almost never spoke a word. But in Baltimore, Johnson once again was successful, as he led the Orioles to a wild-card playoff berth in 1996 and the AL East title in 1997. Both seasons he got his team as far as the ALCS but lost both times.

After the 1997 season he won the A.L. Manager of the Year award but drama followed. After Roberto Alomar missed a charity banquet, Johnson fined him. He told him to write a check to his wifes charity but Alomar didn’t as advised by the Players Union. Angelos was furious that Johnson did not ask for his opinion. The result was Johnson resigning. He was soon hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers to manage for the 1999 season. Johnson suffered his first full losing season as the Dodgers finished in third place. The team rebounded to second place the next year, but Davey was still fired anyway.

Johnson briefly managed the Netherlands national team in 2003, then served as a their bench coach at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2005 he was manager of Team USA and in the 2006 World Baseball Classic was Team USA’s bench coach. In 2008 he served as Team USA’s Manager in the Olympics. He served as a coach in Florida & in 2009 was named the Washington nationals senior advisor.

He began working within the Washington Nationals organization in 2006. He was named senior advisor to current GM Mike Rizzo in 2009 but took over as field manager on June 26th 2011 after the sudden resignation of Jim Riggelman. In his first meeting agaisnt the Mets he lost 8-5 in D.C. but took the series three games to two.

In September he made a triumphant return to New York getting a huge ovation at Citi Field, then went out and swept the Mets in a four game series. For the season his team was 40-43 under his leadership, finishing 80-81 in third place. He will be the Nationals manger in 2012 as well. In his managerial career as a whole Johnson is 1188 - 931 in 2121 games with a .561 %. He has won one pennnat & one World Series finishing first five times, second seven times in 15 seasons.

Johnson did not attend the 20th Anniversary of the 1986 Championship team, nor the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium in 2008. He said there was a personal falling out between him & the organization. In 2010 he finally returned to New York being elected into the Mets Hall of Fame along with Dwight Gooden, Daryl Strawberry & Frank Cashen.

Family: Johnson's daughter, Andrea, was a nationally-ranked surfer in the 1980's. She suffered from schizophrenia & medications led to complications of her passing away. Johnson was devastated. The year before, he suffered from a serious stomach issue, which almost took his own life. Eventually his appendix was drained & removed & he recovered.