Marlins birthday: All-Star catcher, defensive extraordinaire Charles Johnson turns 55

[Mike Ferguson]

When one thinks about Florida/Miami Marlins firsts, many of those are held by catcher Charles Johnson. The first-ever draft pick of the Florida Marlins, Johnson was also the club’s first Gold Glove winner and first All-Star behind the plate.

A native of Fort Piece who played his college baseball at the University of Miami, Johnson was born July 20, 1971. He celebrates his 55th birthday today.

Selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Johnson had two stints with the Marlins. Johnson was a member of the team from 1994 to 1998 and then again in 2001 and 2002. He made All-Star appearances during both stints.

Johnson made his big-league debut in 1994 before transitioning to the team’s primary catcher a year later. In 1995, Johnson became the Marlins’ first Gold Glove winner—an award he would receive in four straight seasons. He was also just the fourth catcher to win a Gold Glove as a rookie. Luis Castillo is the only other Marlins player to win three straight Gold Gloves.

In 1996, Johnson caught Al Leiter’s no-hitter—the first in Marlins history—as Florida topped the Colorado Rockies. In fact, Johnson caught the Marlins’ first three no-hitters in club history. He was behind the plate for Kevin Brown’s no-no against the San Francisco Giants in 1997 and A.J. Burnett’s wild no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in 2001. A day after Burnett’s no-hitter, Johnson came off the bench to hit a go-ahead pinch-hit grand slam.

In 1997, Johnson made his first All-Star appearance, hitting .250 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs. The 19 bombs would be his highest total as a member of the Marlins. Johnson also posted 4.4 wins above replacement (bWAR), the highest of his Marlins tenure.

That season, Johnson helped the Marlins win their first World Series. He set an MLB record for catchers by playing in 123 games without an error. Johnson led baseball by throwing out 56 would-be base stealers.

Johnson drove in the first run in Marlins postseason history with a solo blast in the seventh inning of a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. In Game 1 of the World Series, Johnson followed Moises Alou’s three-run home run with a solo shot of his own to give the Marlins a 5-1 lead in an eventual 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

During the postseason, Johnson hit .264, including .357 in the World Series, with the two homers and 10 RBIs. In Game 7 of the World Series, Johnson’s clutch one-out single in the bottom of the ninth moved Alou from first to third and set up Craig Counsell’s game-tying sacrifice fly. Florida would beat Cleveland in 11 innings to win its first title, 3-2.

Johnson played just 31 games for the Marlins in 1998 before being packaged in a big-time trade that sent Gary Sheffield and Bobby Bonilla to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Todd Zeile and Mike Piazza to Florida. After spending the 1999 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Johnson had his best statistical offensive season in 2000 when he hit .304 with 31 home runs and 91 RBIs—all career-highs—for the Orioles and Chicago White Sox.

Johnson signed as a free agent to return to the Marlins prior to the 2001 season. In 2001, Johnson would make his second and final All-Star Game, hitting .259 with 18 home runs and 75 RBIs. After batting .217 with six home runs and 36 RBIs in 2002 for Florida, Johnson spent 2003 and 2004 with the Rockies before returning to the Sunshine State to finish his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005.

In parts of seven total seasons with the Marlins, Johnson hit .241 with 75 home runs and 277 RBIs—both club records for a catcher. Johnson’s 8.6 defensive wins above replacement (dWAR) remains the highest in team history regardless of position. The standout and two-time All-Star turns 55 today.

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[One Regend]

Charles Johnson is the exact type of catcher I hope Joe Mack eventually becomes. A glove-first catcher with a halfway decent bat that sticks at the plate.