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Charles Johnson (catcher)

For other people named Charles Johnson, see Charles Johnson (disambiguation).

Charles Edward Johnson Jr. (born July 20, 1971) is an American former professional baseball player.[1] He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball with the Florida Marlins (1994–1998, 2001–2002), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998), the Baltimore Orioles (1999–2000), the Chicago White Sox (2000), the Colorado Rockies (2003–2004), and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005).

Charles Johnson
Johnson in 2018
Catcher
Born: (1971-07-20) July 20, 1971 (age 53)
Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 6, 1994, for the Florida Marlins
Last MLB appearance
June 11, 2005, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
MLB statistics
Batting average.245
Home runs167
Runs batted in570
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Havana Team
World Junior Baseball Championship
Gold medal – first place 1988 Sydney Team

The two-time National League All-Star player was considered one of the best defensive catchers of his era, winning four consecutive Gold Glove Awards between 1995 and 1998.[1][2] He was a member of the 1997 world champion Florida Marlins team and is one of only three catchers in Major League history to catch at least 100 games in a single season without committing an error.[3]

Early life and major League career

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Johnson was born in Fort Pierce, Florida, where he graduated from Fort Pierce Westwood High School in Fort Pierce, Florida. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the first round of the 1989 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign, and decided to enroll at the University of Miami, where he played for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team. He was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft.[4] He played with the A-level Kane County Cougars in 1993 and the AA Portland Sea Dogs.

In 1995, Johnson's reputation as a skilled defensive player was solidified when he became the fourth catcher in Major League history to win a Gold Glove Award in his rookie season, joining Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Sandy Alomar Jr.[5] Although his offensive statistics weren't impressive, he made up for those shortcomings by helping his team with his superior defensive skills.[6] In 1996, Johnson caught Al Leiter's no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies.[7] Johnson set a Major League record in 1997 by playing in 123 games without committing a single error, earning him his first All-Star selection, and helping the Marlins win the 1997 World Series against the Cleveland Indians.[8][9][10][11] Johnson led the Marlins in the Series with 10 hits, batting .357 including one home run.[12] Along with winning his third consecutive Gold Glove Award in 1997, he also caught his second no-hitter when Kevin Brown no-hit the Giants on June 10.[13]

In 1998, the Marlins traded Johnson along with Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Gary Sheffield and Manuel Barriosto to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile.[14] After finishing the season with the Dodgers, he played for two years in the American League with the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox.[14] He had his best year offensively in 2000, when he had a .304 batting average along with 31 home runs and 91 RBIs, during a season in which he played 84 games for the Orioles and 44 games for the White Sox.[1]

In 2001 he was traded back to the Marlins, where he hit .285 with 16 home runs by mid-season to earn his second All-Star berth.[15][16] He would also catch his third no hitter when A. J. Burnett no hit the San Diego Padres on May 12.[17] The only Marlins no-hitters Johnson has not caught for Florida were in 2006, when Aníbal Sánchez threw a no-hitter in Dolphin Stadium against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2013 when Henderson Álvarez no-hit the Detroit Tigers, and 2017 when Edinson Vólquez no-hit the Diamondbacks.

After the 2002 season, the Marlins traded Johnson to the Colorado Rockies where he played for two seasons. On April 27, 2004, he, rookie Matt Holliday, and Jeromy Burnitz combined to slug back-to-back-to-back home runs against the Marlins, the sixth such occasion in franchise history.[18] After playing for Colorado, he ended his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, playing his final game on June 11, 2005 at the age of 33.[14]

Career statistics

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In a twelve-season major league career covering 1,188 games, Johnson had a .245 batting average along with 167 home runs, 570 runs batted in and a .993 fielding percentage.[1] His .993 fielding percentage ranks 16th all-time among major league catchers.[19] Along with his four Gold Glove Awards, Johnson twice led National League catchers in fielding percentage, and once each in baserunners caught stealing and assists.[1] During his playing career, he ranked second only to Iván Rodríguez in throwing out baserunners, with a 39% average.[20] He earned two All-Star berths as well as winning a World Series during his career. His three no hitters caught ties him with several other players for third place on the all-time list behind the four no hitters caught by Jason Varitek and Carlos Ruiz.[21] Johnson played more games as a catcher than any other player in Marlins history with 582.[22]


Johnson is a member of the Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame.[23]

Personal life

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Johnson now lives in Miami with his wife Rhonda. They have two sons. Brandon, who is a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL)[24] and former college football wide receiver for the University of Tennessee, and Beau, who plays college football as a tight end for Georgia Southern University. Johnson is a cousin of former Major Leaguer Fred McGriff.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Charles Johnson Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Doyle, Al (June 1997). "Never Underestimate A Good Defensive Catcher". Baseball Digest. Vol. 56, no. 6. ISSN 0005-609X.
  3. ^ "Giants catcher Mike Matheny announces retirement". MLB.com. February 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013.
  4. ^ "1992 Baseball Draft". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Edes, Gordon (February 1998). "Charles Johnson: Marlins' Biggest Catch". Baseball Digest. Vol. 57, no. 2. ISSN 0005-609X.
  6. ^ Vass, George (May 2005). "For Catchers, The Name of the Game is Defense". Baseball Digest. Vol. 64, no. 3. ISSN 0005-609X.
  7. ^ "May 11, 1996 Rockies-Marlins box score at Baseball Reference". Baseball-reference.com. May 11, 1996. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  8. ^ Verducci, Tom (September 22, 1997). "Somebody's Perfect". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  9. ^ "Catcher Fielding Records". The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "1997 All-Star Game at Baseball Reference". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "1997 World Series at Baseball Reference". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  12. ^ "Charles Johnson post-season batting statistics at Baseball Reference". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  13. ^ "Florida Marlins vs San Francisco Giants Box Score: June 10, 1997". Baseball-Reference.com. June 10, 1997. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c "Charles Johnson Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  15. ^ "Charles Johnson at the Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers". Members.tripod.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  16. ^ "2001 All-Star Game at Baseball Reference". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  17. ^ "May 12, 2001 Marlins-Padres box score at Baseball Reference". Baseball-reference.com. May 12, 2001. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  18. ^ "Matt Holliday stats, video highlights, photos, bio (2004 highlights)". MLB.com. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  19. ^ "Career Fielding Leaders at Catcher". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  20. ^ Lowe, John (July 2001). "Catching". Baseball Digest. Vol. 60, no. 7. ISSN 0005-609X.
  21. ^ "Catching the Most No Hitters". The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  22. ^ "Most Games Caught For Team at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers". Members.tripod.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  23. ^ "Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame". MLB.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  24. ^ Fleser, Dan (August 24, 2018). "Vols' Brandon Johnson gets good advice from his MLB All-Star dad about coaching change". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  25. ^ "Charles Johnson at www.retrosheet.org". Retrosheet.org. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
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