Unlikely Lefty Leading Cyclones Bullpen

July 4, 2008   ·   Patrick Hickey, Jr.   ·   Jump to comments

To those who have seen him pitch at Keyspan Park this season, lefty reliever Jimmy Johnson has been somewhat of a wunderkind, going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in five games.

However, the southpaw, whose delivery is reminiscent of another dominant lefty reliever in New York, former Mets closer, John Franco, was drafted in the 28th round in this season’s draft and was a complete unknown to the Cyclones coaching staff before the season began in mid-June.

As a matter of fact, Johnson is still at a loss to explain how the team has become so quickly attached him.

“I have no idea,” Johnson said with a laugh. “After I got drafted, I had no idea where I was going to go. I guess I was just blessed to be sent here and have the opportunities that have been given to me so far. I’m not a strikeout guy; all I’ve been doing is hitting my spots and letting the defense take care of the rest.”

First impressions mean a lot in the world of baseball and Johnson’s was laughable at best. However, despite not originally wowing the Clones, he’s still found a way to become an integral part of the bullpen.

“I remember throwing my first bullpen session and he [Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo] came up behind me about halfway through,” he said. “When the coach is behind you for the first time, you can’t help but get nervous. I remember the first pitch he saw from me was a changeup that traveled about 40 feet. He started laughing and I told him, ‘Dude I can’t throw with you right there.’ After that, I relaxed and did my thing, but it was pretty nerve-racking.”

However, in spite of his botched first meeting with his new skipper, Johnson has also become a teacher’s pet of sorts.

“Man, he’s shown me something,” said Alfonzo. “Every time he pitches, we win. To me, he’s our lucky charm. He has good command with all of his pitches and he can locate. His fastball isn’t in the 90s, but if he continues to locate the way he has, he’ll be more than fine.”

Still adjusting to life in Brooklyn, Johnson admits he wasn’t ready for his first trip to the mound at Keyspan. Nevertheless, he ended up getting the win and quickly garnering the attention of the Brooklyn coaching staff.

“Opening night, I thought hey were just going to let me watch and I wound up getting into the game and it was crazy,” he said. “I remember not looking at the crowd during my warm up pitches and then all of a sudden I looked up and said, ‘Aw man.’I was shocked. There’s just a lot of people.”

While you’d expect the youngster to shy away from from such exposure so early in his career, it’s something that he’s grown to like in his short time in Brooklyn and something he isn’t planning on running away from any time soon.

“I came from a small college and have never played in front of a crowd like this,” said Johnson. “This is all new and exciting to me. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Link:

Box Score to last night’s 12-3 Brooklyn win.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr. and Ron Hatcher.