Roy Edward Johnson (June 27, 1959 – January 26, 2009) 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 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 ...

who appeared in 36 games 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 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), ...

), mainly as a center fielder, in parts of three seasons for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(, –). Listed at tall and , the native of

Parkin, Arkansas Parkin is a city in Cross County, Arkansas, United States, along the St. Francis River. The population was 1,105 at the 2010 census, down from 1,602 in 2000. Due to the recent population loss, a large segment of the downtown area has many abando ...

, batted and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

. He was selected by the Expos in the fifth round of the

1980 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins *Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall ...

out of

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

. Johnson was a distinguished hitter in the minors, but he was not able to translate it to major league success. He posted a .171

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(12-for-70) with four doubles, one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

(a two- run shot off

Rich Bordi Richard Albert Bordi (born April 18, 1959) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played from to . He played for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. Bordi threw and batted ...

of the Chicago Cubs on September 12, 1984) and four

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

in 79 MLB plate appearances. In his eight-season minor league career, Johnson hit .291 with 85 homers and 428 RBI in 773 games, including an .829

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

percentage. He hit .361 with 90 RBI and a .561

slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as ...

percentage at Triple-A for the 1982

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association gre ...

, where he also played in 1983. Dealt to the Oakland Athletics, he was a member of the Triple-A Tacoma Tigers during three seasons (1986–1988), hitting .343 in 1986. He also played for the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Venu ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

and later became their hitting coach. Johnson died at his

San Francisco de Campeche San Francisco de Campeche (; yua, Ahk'ìin Pech, ), 19th c., also known simply as Campeche, is a city in Campeche Municipality in the state of Campeche, Mexico on the shore of the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico. Both the seat of the muni ...

home of a heart attack at the age of 49. He was buried at Jardines del Angel Cemetery, in Campeche. After his death, the Piratas retired Johnson's 39 number.

Facts

*Johnson is regarded as one of the most powerful foreign-born hitters to play in Mexican baseball. Called the "Arkansas Train," he shares the Mexican League record for most home runs in one game with four, and has the Campeche home run record as well (114).Obituary
/ref> *The 1982 Expos had

Andre Dawson Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different te ...

Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...

and

Warren Cromartie Warren Livingston Cromartie (born September 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player best remembered for his early career with the Montreal Expos. He and fellow young outfielders Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson were the talk ...

as regulars in the outfield, with

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...

and Johnson serving in backup roles.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Roy 1959 births 2009 deaths African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Alacranes de Campeche players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball coaches from Arkansas Baseball players from Arkansas Huntsville Stars players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Jamestown Expos players Major League Baseball outfielders Memphis Chicks players Montreal Expos players People from Parkin, Arkansas Pericos de Puebla players Piratas de Campeche players Tacoma Tigers players Tennessee State Tigers baseball players West Palm Beach Expos players Wichita Aeros players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people