Benjamin Joseph Johnson (born June 18, 1981) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He played in

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), ...

(MLB) for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He is currently the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

Professional career

He was a 4th round draft pick in

1999 MLB draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and was traded the following year to the

, along with

Heathcliff Slocumb Heath "Heathcliff" Slocumb (born June 7, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed. Early life and amateur career As a child, Slocumb was nicknamed "Heathcliff" after the comic strip cat of t ...

for Carlos Hernández and minor leaguer Nathan Tebbs. He worked his way up to Triple-A in 2005, where he was an All-Star outfielder and the San Diego Padres Minor League Player of the Year, hitting .312 with 25 home runs. He was brought up to the majors that year and received limited playing time with the Padres, hitting .213 in 75 at-bats, and .250 with 4 home runs in 120 at-bats in 2006. He was not selected for San Diego's 2006 playoff roster, and after the season ended he was traded to the New York Mets with

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Jon Adkins in exchange for relievers

Heath Bell Heath Justin Bell (born September 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. As a closer with the San Diego Padres from 2009 to 2011, Bell was a three-time All-Star and twice won the Rolaids Relief Man Award. He was ...

and Royce Ring. During the beginning of his time with the Mets, Johnson was shuttled up and down between New York and Triple-A

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. During June, he received some playing time when all three Mets regular outfielders (

Shawn Green Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star. He drove in 100 runs four times and scored 100 runs four times, hit ...

Carlos Beltrán Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Fran ...

, and

Moisés Alou Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré (; ; born July 3, 1966) is a Dominican-American former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, ...

) were injured. Johnson was not offered a new contract by the Mets and became a free agent on December 12, 2007. However, the Mets brought Johnson back by signing him to a minor league deal on February 14, 2008, and invited him to spring training. Johnson was released by the Mets in early May 2008. In 2009, Johnson attempted a comeback from multiple injuries with the

Orange County Flyers The Fullerton Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Fullerton, California, in the United States. They were an independent franchise, not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or'' Minor League Baseball. The team played from ...

of the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...

Coaching career

Johnson made his professional managerial debut with the Arizona/Goodyear Centennials of the

Freedom Pro Baseball League The Freedom Pro Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in Arizona that played in 2012 and 2013. The league started with four teams, the Scottsdale Centennials, Peoria Explorers, Phoenix Prospectors, and the Prescott Federals in ...

in 2012. He is formerly a coach with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, the AAA affiliate of the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

. In 2019, Johnson was named manager of the

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Sports Net
o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ben 1981 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Baseball coaches from Tennessee Baseball players from Memphis, Tennessee Erie SeaWolves players Fort Wayne Wizards players Johnson City Cardinals players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball outfielders Memphis Redbirds managers Minor league baseball coaches Mobile BayBears players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Orange County Flyers players Peoria Chiefs players Peoria Javelinas players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people