Another recent TTM request came back to my mailbox in the form of this signed 1969 Topps Davey Johnson.
Davey Johnson was the solid second baseman for the Orioles during their golden years. Not quite a power hitter (at least not while with the Orioles) he was a 3 time All Star for the Orioles. He added another All Star appearance with the Braves in his career season in 1973 when he hit 43 homers. Davey Johnson also played in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants in 1976 and 1977. He later became the manager of the Mets leading them to the World Series trophy in 1986 and then had stints in Cincinnati, Baltimore, LA, and Washington. He famously resigned from the Orioles managerial job a mere two hours before he won the AL Manager of the Year in 1997. He resigned before Peter Angelos could fire him because Johnson directed Roberton Alomar to pay a fine to a charity in which Dave's wife worked. Angelos took exception to how Johnson handled the situation and was likely to fire him. Seems petty to me but that's how the Angelos ownership group handles business.
What Alomar did was awful, but forcing or pressuring your employee to make a donation to your wife's charity sounds like a real ethics issue too.
ReplyDeleteI did some more research and the spitting incident and the fine that Alomar had to pay were separate. The fine I referenced in the post was for Alomar missing an exhibition game and a team banquet NOT for the incident with Hirschbeck.
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