Davey Johnson Passes Away at 82

Davey Johnson, the winningest manager in New York Mets history, has passed away at the age of 82. Mets Team Vice President of Alumni Relations Jay Horwitz made the news of Johnson’s passing public on Saturday morning. Johnson is survived by his wife, Susan. 

Davey Johnson, The Winningest Manager in Mets History, Passes Away

Before stepping into the dugout of Shea Stadium as the Mets manager, Johnson played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball. He played with the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs. He played two seasons in Japan from 1975 to 1976 with the Yomuiri Giants. As a player, Johnson was a four-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover, and helped the Orioles to two World Series Championships. In the 1969 World Series between the Orioles and Mets, Johnson made the last out as New York won their first championship. Two decades later, Johnson would manage the Mets to their second title. 

Johnson’s Managerial Career and the 1986 World Series Championship

Johnson got into coaching and was hired by the Mets and general manager Frank Cashen as the club’s manager in 1984. Johnson had managed the Mets’ minor league affiliates in Double-A and Triple-A from 1981 to 1983. During the rest of the decade and into the 1990 season, Johnson won 595 games as New York’s manager, a club record that still hasn’t been matched. In 1986, Johnson managed the Mets to 108 regular-season wins, still the most in Mets history, and a World Series championship. Two years later, in 1988, the Mets won 100 games and clinched the National League East Division championship. 

During Johnson’s tenure as Mets manager, the team won 90 or more games from 1984 to 1988. He was fired during the 1990 season after the team got off to a slow start amid high expectations. Johnson would go on to manage the Cincinnati Reds (1993-1995), Baltimore Orioles (1996-1997), Los Angeles Dodgers (1999-2000), and Washington Nationals (2011-2013). Johnson won 1,372 games as a manager and won 25 playoff games in six postseason appearances. He also managed Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Johnson, along with Cashen, Darryl Strawberry, and Dwight Gooden, was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010. 

The post Davey Johnson Passes Away at 82 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.