Davey Johnson, probably the most profitable supervisor in Mets historical past who guided them to the 1986 world championship, and continued on successful after he left in stints with the Reds, Orioles, Dodgers and Nationals, died Friday at Sarasota (Fla.) Memoria Hospital after a protracted sickness. He was 82.
Johnson, who was a four-time All-Star second baseman with the Orioles in his Sixties and ‘70s playing days, was hired as Mets manager after winning the International League championship with their Triple-A team in Tidewater in 1983. At the time, Mets general manager Frank Cashen, who himself had been a fixture in the Orioles organization when Johnson was a player there, reportedly listed for him during the interview the 10 skills he looked for in manager to which Davy replied: “Yeah I got all of those.” Which he did, although Johnson’s two overwhelming expertise which Cashen didn’t point out have been confidence and cockiness.
Cashen noticed Johnson’s confidence that first season in 1984 when Davey lobbied arduous to advertise 19-year-old Dwight Gooden to the large membership in opposition to the GM’s higher judgement. However Gooden rewarded his supervisor’s religion by main the majors with 276 strikeouts in 218 innings with a 2.60 ERA in ’84.
“He took a chance on me when I was 19,” Gooden stated in a press release. “Davey wasn’t afraid to make a tough decision. I know I wouldn’t have had the career I did without him.”
The Mets completed second within the NL East with 90 wins in ’84, an enchancment of twenty-two wins from the 12 months earlier than. By this time Cashen had already begun placing collectively the important thing items of the workforce that might win all of it in ’86, with trades for Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez and later Gary Carter, and the promotions from inside of Darryl Strawberry, Mookie Wilson, Kevin Mitchell and Lenny Dykstra.
Although that proficient bunch achieved the Mets’ biggest success with 108 wins in ’86 and happening to defeat the Astros within the NLCS and the Crimson Sox in an exciting seven-game World Collection, they have been additionally infamous roustabouts which can have attributed to their failure to ever get to a different World Collection. Johnson was criticized for not controlling his clubhouse and he was additionally stated to have had a consuming downside himself which in the end led to his dismissal in Could 1990 with the Mets 20-22. His .588 successful proportion (595-417) stays the best of any Met supervisor in historical past.
“I don’t think Davey got enough credit for the way he managed those Mets teams. We were not the easiest group to handle but he never lost our respect. He was a computer before there were computers with his insight and often analytical approach to the game. He did things his way and was confident about everything he did and we fed off that,” Strawberry stated by telephone Saturday.
Three years after being fired by the Mets, Johnson went to Cincinnati and managed the Reds to 53, 66 and 85 wins earlier than having a falling out with mercurial Reds proprietor Marge Schott. He had comparable success in two years managing the Orioles with 88 and 98 wins in ’96 and ’97, however once more wound up clashing with one other headstrong proprietor, on this case Peter Angelos, and he stop after successful 98 video games and AL Supervisor of the 12 months honors ’98.
Davey Johnson, who led the Mets to 1986 World Collection title, dies at 82
After additionally managing the Dodgers and Nationals, together with a 98-win season in Washington in 2012, Johnson retired with a report of 1,372-1071 and the sixth highest successful proportion (.562) amongst managers with at the very least 1,300 wins.
“I will miss Davey dearly,” stated Jim Palmer, Johnson’s ’70s Orioles teammate stated Saturday. “However I’ll additionally consider him fondly. He was teammates with Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson, performed in Japan the place he was a hero and received a world championship in New York.
“What a life he had!”
Initially Revealed: September 6, 2025 at 2:32 PM EDT
