Cliff Johnson (baseball)

For other people with the same name, see Cliff Johnson (disambiguation).

Cliff Johnson
Johnson in 1976
Designated hitter / First baseman / Catcher
Born: (1947-07-22) July 22, 1947 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 13, 1972, for the Houston Astros
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1986, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
Batting average	.258
Home Runs	196
Runs batted in	699
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Houston Astros (1972–1977) New York Yankees (1977–1979) Cleveland Indians (1979–1980) Chicago Cubs (1980) Oakland Athletics (1981–1982) Toronto Blue Jays (1983–1984) Texas Rangers (1985) Toronto Blue Jays (1985–1986)
Career highlights and awards
2× World Series champion (1977, 1978)

Clifford "Heathcliff" Johnson, Jr. (born July 22, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball player who played for the Houston Astros (1972–1977), New York Yankees (1977–1979), Cleveland Indians (1979–1980), Chicago Cubs (1980), Oakland Athletics (1981–82), Toronto Blue Jays (1983–84, 1985–1986) and Texas Rangers (1985). He batted and threw right-handed and split time between catcher, first baseman, and outfielder in the early part of his Major League career before becoming primarily a full-time designated hitter.

Career

As a catcher at San Antonio's Wheatley High School in 1965, Johnson was the 83rd pick in the 1966 baseball draft by the Houston Astros. After six seasons in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut on September 13, 1972, and played for the Astros until partway through the 1977 season, when he was traded to the Yankees.

Johnson was a member of the 1977 and 1978 Yankees World Series championship teams, both over the Los Angeles Dodgers. On April 19, 1979, following a Yankee loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Reggie Jackson started kidding Johnson about his inability to hit Goose Gossage. While Johnson was showering, Gossage insisted to Jackson that he struck out Johnson all the time when he used to face him, and that he was terrible at the plate. (Johnson only batted three times against Gossage in the National League in 1977 as a Houston Astro while Gossage was with the Pirates, going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts) "He either homers or strikes out", Gossage said. He had previously given Johnson the nickname "Breeze" in reference to how his big swing kept Gossage cool on the pitcher's mound in hot weather. When Jackson relayed this information to Johnson upon his return to the locker room, all the players assembled, egged on by Jackson, started laughing at him and in unison loudly called him "Breeze" with some waving their arms and hands before doubling over. This infuriated Johnson and a fight started between him and Gossage. Gossage tore ligaments in his right thumb and missed three months of the season which cost the Yankees a chance to win their third consecutive World Series title. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was furious and fined both Johnson and Gossage. Teammate Tommy John called it "a demoralizing blow to the team." Johnson was traded to Cleveland two months after the brawl.

As a member of the Blue Jays in the mid-1980s, Johnson was a fan favorite at Exhibition Stadium until his retirement on September 30, 1986.

In a 15-season major League career, Johnson posted a .258 batting average with 196 home runs and 699 RBI in 1369 games played. Johnson held the MLB record for pinch hit home runs with 20 until he was surpassed by Matt Stairs in 2010.

Personal

Johnson is the brother-in-law of retired Major League left fielder Mike Easler.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Retrosheet