Jimmy Johnson (baseball, born 1947)
American baseball player and manager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Lloyd Johnson (born August 28, 1947) is an American professional baseball coach, and a former infielder and manager at the minor league level. Johnson was primarily a shortstop and third baseman during his playing days. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg). As a player, Johnson compiled a .252 batting average in 577 minor league games.[1]
| Jimmy Johnson | |
|---|---|
![](#/media/File:Jimmy_"JJ"_Johnson.jpg) Johnson in 2026 managing the PSCL's Blue Sox | |
| Infielder / Manager | |
| Born: August 28, 1947 Colona, Illinois, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference |
Early life
Johnson was born at Colona, Illinois. He graduated from Rincon High School in Tucson, Arizona,[2] and attended the University of New Mexico.
Career
He signed his first pro contract with the Houston Astros and spent a quarter-century in their system as an infielder (1969–76), minor league manager (1977–82; 1984–85) (including the Columbus Astros (1978-1979, 1984)[3] and Tucson Toros (1980–82, 1985))[2][4][5][6] and coordinator of instruction (1983; 1986–93).[7][8] He then joined the New York Yankees as an instructor and manager, and later worked with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies as a minor league hitting coordinator. He has also managed additional minor league teams, including the Norwich Navigators in 1995, Greensboro Bats in 1996[9] and the St. Paul Saints in 2002.[10][11][12][13] He was listed as the Colorado farm system's roving batting instructor in 2009.[14] He also coached for the China national baseball team at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[15] Johnson served as the manager of the Grand Junction Rockies of the Pioneer League for the 2021 season.[16] He coached at The California Winter League, as well as The Palm Springs College League.