Today's blog post has a "not so missing" 1976 card for former second baseman and future big time MLB manager Davey Johnson, who appeared in one single game during the 1975 season before heading to the "Land of the Rising Sun":
Johnson
was coming off a decent 1974 season with the Atlanta Braves that saw
him hit 15 homers while hitting .251 over 136 games, this after his
monster 1973 season that had him hit an incredible 43 homers along with
99 runs batted in.
However
in 1975 after only one game where he'd single in his only at-bat, he
was released by the Braves and ended up signing with the Yomiuri Giants
of Japan's Central League, where he would play over the next two
seasons.
Anyone
have any idea why he was dumped by the Braves just four games into the
new season? I never heard of why and am interested in the sudden move,
especially by a cellar-dwelling team.
Regardless, he'd be back in the Majors in 1977, making his comeback with the Philadelphia Phillies.
It
wasn't much of a comeback, as he'd play in 78 games for the Phils in
1977 followed by a split year in 1978 with Philadelphia and the Chicago
Cubs where he hit four homers over 68 games before calling it a career
as a player shortly after.
Of course, we all know years later
he'd find success as a Major League manager, leading the wild New York
Mets in the 1980's, the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles in the
1990's, Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999/2000 and finally the Washington
Nationals from 2011 through 2013.
Over his 20 years as a
manager he put in a very nice record of 1562 and 1226, good for a .560
winning percentage, winning it all in 1986 with the Mets.
A baseball lifer indeed!