Philadelphia Phillies
Johnson worked his way up the ranks quickly in the Phillies' farm system, batting .322 with forty home runs and 187 runs batted in (RBIs) across two seasons to earn a spot on the Phillies' bench for the start of the 1964 season. However, he was optioned back to the Arkansas Travelers of the Pacific Coast League without having logged a major league at-bat in order to make room on the major league roster for relief pitcher Ed Roebuck, who was acquired from the Washington Senators shortly after the season started.
Johnson soon earned a call back up to the majors as he batted .316 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs in just over half a season in Little Falls. In his major legue debut, Johnson went three-for-four with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. He remained hot for his first month in the majors, batting .400 with one home run and nine RBIs through August. He eventually settled into a lefty-righty platoon with Wes Covington in left field, which he would do through the 1965 season. After which, Johnson, Pat Corrales and Art Mahaffey were dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bill White, Dick Groat and Bob Uecker.
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Famous quotes containing the word philadelphia:
“It used to be said that, socially speaking, Philadelphia asked who a person is, New York how much is he worth, and Boston what does he know. Nationally it has now become generally recognized that Boston Society has long cared even more than Philadelphia about the first point and has refined the asking of who a person is to the point of demanding to know who he was. Philadelphia asks about a man’s parents; Boston wants to know about his grandparents.”
—Cleveland Amory (b. 1917)