James Brian Johnson (November 3, 1945 – December 6, 1987) was an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. A left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, he appeared in three Major League

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

during the early days of the season as a member of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. Born in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expa ...

, he stood tall and weighed . An alumnus of

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

,Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame
/ref> he entered professional baseball after being selected by the Giants in the third round of the secondary phase of the June

1967 Major League Baseball draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the profe ...

. After three years of seasoning in the Giants'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, he made the early-season roster of the 1970 Giants. His three MLB appearances all came in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

. In his debut, April 13 at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, he took over from Giants'

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 ...

Frank Reberger in the first

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

with the Giants trailing 4–0. He pitched creditably and held the Giants close until the fourth inning, when Atlanta reached him for five

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and five earned runs en route to a 9–3 Braves' triumph. In his second appearance, three days later against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, Johnson worked two hitless innings but his three

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

resulted in another earned run charged against his record; however, the Giants won that contest 11–9. Finally, on April 18, 1970, Johnson again relieved Reberger after the starter experienced a tough outing. Entering the game against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

in the fourth inning, Johnson allowed three

inherited runners This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. ...

to score, but eventually stopped a Cincinnati rally with the Reds' leading 8–3. Johnson then pitched a scoreless fifth inning and exited for a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

in the top of the sixth; but in that inning, San Francisco rallied for seven runs and eventually won 16–9, earning Johnson the

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

.1970-4-18 box score from Retrosheet
/ref> He then was returned the Giants' minor league system and he retired after the 1970 season. In the Majors, he allowed eight hits, six earned runs, and five bases on balls, while recording two

strikeouts 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 ...

. Johnson became an educator after leaving baseball, and in 1983 he was named superintendent of schools in

North Muskegon, Michigan North Muskegon is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,786 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Dem ...

. Four years later, he died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at the age of 42.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jim 1945 births 1987 deaths Amarillo Giants players Baseball players from Michigan Deaths from cancer in Michigan Decatur Commodores players Fresno Giants players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Muskegon, Michigan Phoenix Giants players Salt Lake City Giants players San Francisco Giants players Western Michigan Broncos baseball players