>>>>>>MFC salutes Howard Johnson!

MFC salutes Howard Johnson

(N.Y. Mets, 1985-1993)

On September 11, 1987, "HoJo" stole his 30th base to join the 30-30 club for the first time. He and Strawberry became the only teammates to achieve 30–30 status in the same season.

                                               Awesome photo by David G. Whitham

The entire league took notice of Johnson's unexpected rise in 1987 and he received 42 points in the voting for National League MVP. His home run and RBI totals were second only to Strawberry on the team and his home runs were seventh-best in the entire majors.

In 1987 Johnson's 36 home runs were the most in National League history by a switch-hitter, breaking Ripper Collins' 53-year-old record.

With his 30th home run on August 20, 1989, Johnson joined Bobby Bonds and Willie Mays as the only multi-year members of the 30–30 club.

Johnson's best game was his first ever five-RBIs game, including a grand slam, at Wrigley Field on June 13, 1990.

Howard became the leader of the offense for the Mets and, in response, became arguably the best offensive player in the National League in 1991, winning two-thirds of the coveted Triple Crown.

At season's end, Johnson had won both the National League home run title and RBI title. The 38 home runs broke his own record for N.L. switch hitters and 117 RBIs set the Met record for most runs batted in in a season until 1999. Both were also career bests for Johnson. On October 1, 1991, he stole his 30th base becoming only the second player, after Bobby Bonds, to join the 30–30 club in three different seasons.

Johnson's time with the Mets came to an end in 1993 as he was granted free agency.

In 1994, Johnson signed with the Colorado Rockies.  After a sub-par season with the Chicago Cubs in 1995, Johnson retired at age 35.

HoJo served as a hitting coach for the Butte Copper Kings (Tampa Bay Devil Rays), the Brooklyn Cyclones (N.Y. Mets), St. Lucie Mets, Birmingham Mets, Norfolk Tides (N.Y. Mets),

In 2007, he took over first base coaching duties for the Mets, and later that year was named hitting coach (until 2011).

Johnson was named hitting coach for AAA Tacoma Rainiers of the Seattle Mariners organization for the 2013 baseball season.

He then joined the Mariners as a hitting coach for the 2014 Season part of the new coaching staff (until June 20, 2015).

Johnson managed the single-A Down East Wood Ducks (Texas Rangers affiliate) in 2017, and is now hitting instructor for the AAA Round Rock Express in 2018.

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Career Highlights

•>Member of the 1984 World Series champion Tigers and the 1986 World Series champion Mets.

•>1992–1997: Held career National League record for home runs by a switch hitter.

•>1987–1996: Held single-season National League record for home runs by a switch hitter.

•>Three-time member of the 30–30 club (1987, 1989 and 1991). Only Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds and Alfonso Soriano have reached the marks more often.

•>1987–1991: Second highest home run total in the National League behind only teammate Darryl Strawberry.

•>1989 and 1991: Member of the National League All-Star team.

•>1989 and 1991: Winner of National League Silver Slugger award for third basemen.

•>Second on Mets all-time home run list from 1991 until 2004.

•>Second on Mets all-time RBI list from 1993 until 2005.

•>1991: Became the only switch-hitter to ever lead the NL in both HRs and RBIs in the same season.

•>1991: Became the only Met to lead the National League in RBI.

•>1991: Became the first switch-hitter to lead the National League in RBI. (Lance Berkman became the second in 2002.)

•>June 1989, September 1991: Winner of the National League Player of the Month award. He was the last Met to win the award until David Wright in June 2006