Thomas Alan Johnson (born August 24, 1983) is a former

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played briefly for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in the 2011 season. Johnson belongs to a group of ballplayers who at least secured a ''

cup of coffee A "cup of coffee" is a North American sports idiom for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before bei ...

'' in the majors. Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, Johnson was signed as an undrafted agent by Colorado in 2005 out of

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

. He was immediately assigned to the rookie level

Grand Junction Rockies The Grand Junction Jackalopes are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and play their home games ...

, where he went 3–2 with a 3.97

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

and 78

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in innings. Johnson gained a promotion to Single-A

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differen ...

for 2006, and had a 13–5 record with a 4.04 ERA while striking out 123 in innings. He then opened 2007 with High-A

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the region. They play the ...

, where he went 14–7 with a 2.99 ERA and 119 strikeouts in innings. Late in the year, he finished 2–0 with a 0.00 ERA in two starts for Double-A

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

. But Johnson declined in 2008 with Tulsa, where he went 4–14 with a 5.23 ERA in 28 starts, striking out 92 in innings. Even though, he was promoted to Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

in 2009, where he went 10–6 with a 5.66 ERA in 26 games (24 starts), and strike out 76 in 143 innings. Johnson came back with the Sky Sox in 2010, finishing 10–8 with a 5.91 ERA in 28 games (25 starts), and striking out 100 in innings. He then made one start for the Sky Sox in 2011 before being promoted to the Rockies to replace

Greg Reynolds Gregory Adam Reynolds (born July 3, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Colorado Rockies and the Cincinnati Reds. Amateur career Reynolds was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies ...

. Johnson made his major league pitching debut on April 17, 2011. He was slated to start a game against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, and he allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks in four innings, leaving the game with the score tied, 5–5. The Rockies went on to win the game, 9–5, with Johnson not factoring in the decision. He then was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on April 29, and was outrighted off the roster on May 3. Johnson returned to the Sky Sox and finished the year there in undistinguished fashion. He made 26 appearances (23 starts) and finished 5–11 with a 7.43 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 132 innings of work. As a result, he was released and became a minor league free agent. In April 2012, Johnson signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the Atlantic League. In 27 games (26 starts) with the Barnstormers, he went 14–6 with a 4.57 ERA, striking out 79 in 138 innings. On March 11, 2013, Johnson re-signed with Lancaster. His most recent appearance was in 2013, when he posted a 1–3 record with an 8.02 ERA in 10 games for Lancaster, including seven starts, striking out 20 while walking 21 in innings of work. In between, Johnson played winter ball with the

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

club of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in the 2009 season.Pura Pelota
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Alan 1983 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Alabama Casper Rockies players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Lancaster Barnstormers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players Modesto Nuts players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tulsa Drillers players