FARM REPORT by Gary Jacobs

Caretaker of the Future

PAWTUCKET, RI | April 13, 2007-- It’s opening night in Pawtucket, and two hours before game time, McCoy Stadium is filling.

Fans in the blue general admission seats arrive early to stake their claim in the seats of their choice, which is almost completely pointless; there truly is no bad seat here, with the possible exception of the hundred or so seats for which the overhanging press box obstructs their view of the field.

The player/media parking lot is choked with police and fire honor guards, practicing their drills, making sure their shoes and badges are shined to a high gleam. In the public areas of the stadium, as well as the hidden hallways underneath the stands, the smell of new paint contends with the more traditional aromas of hot dogs and beer. McCoy is old – older than can be covered up by a coat of paint – but it is spotlessly clean, and that’s really all you can ask of a stadium that is older than most of the people in it.

On the field the PawSox are taking infield practice, and the man with the bat is no coach; it is the skipper of the team himself, Ron Johnson. As often as not there is a smile on his face, which is typical of RJ, as he is known; he is as far removed from the stereotypical crusty baseball lifer as it gets. Unfailingly positive and never one to deliver a message through the media, his players to a man enjoy playing for him.

“Well, I enjoy being their manager,” says Johnson. “Therefore I think it’ll maybe rub off and they enjoy playing for me. I don’t want to create an atmosphere where guys don’t want to be at the ballpark. If that goes hand in hand with wanting to play for me, then sure.”

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Johnson was first drafted by the then-California Angels in the 13th round in 1976, but didn’t sign, opting instead to attend Fresno State University. After a standout collegiate career (first team All-American in 1978), he was drafted by Kansas City in the 24th round, thus beginning a tenure in professional baseball that is entering its 30th year.

His own major-league career was short-lived; it started with a September callup in 1982. “I’ll never forget that day [September 12], because it was in Anaheim, and I grew up in Garden Grove,” he remembers. “It was really neat for me because my Dad was in the stands. And he ended up passing away of prostate cancer…he was my biggest fan. It was obviously not a long career, so to be able to play your first game, have your first at-bat with your Dad in the stands, it was pretty special.”

After spending parts of the next two seasons in the bigs, playing mostly first base but spend some time in the outfield and even a few games catching, he was demoted by the Montreal Expos in 1984 and never saw Major League action again.

Johnson: “I spent ’85 in the minor leagues. I was in the twilight of a mediocre career. It was very obvious that my playing days were coming to an end. I got released by the Tigers in 86, got picked up by the White Sox and finished out the season there up in Buffalo. The next season I was just out…working in a carpet store.”

After ending the first phase of his career, he embarked on his second; after contacting John Schuerholz, who originally drafted him, he took a position as a part-time coach in the Royals farm system. By 1992 he had become the manager of the Single-A Baseball City Royals. He worked his way through the organization, eventually taking the helm of the triple-A Omaha squad just two years later.