California Angels
Johnson hit the ground running in California, leading the league with a .366 batting average through May. He cooled off considerably as the 1970 season progress, but still went into the All-Star break at .328 to earn selection to the A.L. squad. He remained in the batting race throughout the season, and went into the final game of the season .002 points behind Boston's Carl Yastrzemski. Johnson went two-for-three to win the A.L. batting title by 0.004 over Yastrzemski.
Johnson became the subject of some controversy toward the end of his first season in California when he was fined by Angels manager Lefty Phillips for not running out a grounder. This continued into the following Spring, when Phillips fined Johnson $100 for loafing in an exhibition game. The following day, Phillips removed Johnson from a second exhibition after he failed to run out a first inning grounder.
The trend continued into the 1971 regular season as Johnson was benched three times in the month of May for indifferent play. On June 4, he was pulled in the first inning of a 10–1 loss to the Red Sox when he failed to run all the way to first base on a routine ground ball. After being replaced by Tony González in left over the next week, Johnson intimated that some of his battles with teammates and management were racially motivated.
| “ | Hell yes, I'm bitter. I've been bitter ever since I learned I was black. The society into which I was born and in which I grew up and in which I play ball today is anti-black. My attitude is nothing more than a reaction of their attitude. | ” |
Following a June 13 loss to the Washington Senators, Johnson claimed that Chico Ruiz, who had been a close friend and was the godfather of Johnson's adopted daughter, pointed a gun at him while the two were in the clubhouse. Ruiz denied the claim.
Somewhere along the way, Johnson, who was never a very good fielder, stopped taking outfield practice before games. A trade deadline deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for Tommy Harper fell through. When the Angels headed to Milwaukee for a four game set with the Brewers, Johnson told reporters that he needed to get out of California, and that "playing in hell" would be an improvement. When the Angels headed to Chicago on June 25, Johnson was benched for his performance in the final game of the series with the Brewers. He loafed on two balls hit to him in left field that ignited the Brewers' five run fourth inning, and failed to run out a ground ball in his final at-bat in the ninth inning. Phillips put it simply, "If you had seen him play lately, you'd know why he isn't in the line-up."
By the end of June, Johnson had been benched five times and fined 29 times. On June 26, Angels GM Dick Walsh suspended him without pay indefinitely for "not using his best efforts."
Read more about this topic: Alex Johnson
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