Eli Cash - contributing reporter
As we near the end of Jorge Johnson's playing days and the debate that will follow as he nears 3,000 hits. Let's take a look back at his career and what might be in store for him next season where at the prime ole age of 39 he will be crossing his fingers that topoftheworl exercises the mutual option for $7.5M. That's a lot to pay for a guy whose scouting OAV is projected to be in the 40s; lower than some top prospects coming out of high school. With the loyalty to his players, I'd imagine topoftheworl declines the option and signs Jorgey to a league minimum contract in hopes he can reach the milestone that in his mind guarantees his entrance into the hall.
But before we get into his career, let's take a quick look at a few other retired players. First are two players who just missed the 3k hit mark in Francisco Baez and Midre Mantalban. Baez feel just 5 hits shorts and missed his chance at the Hall. Mantalban missed it by 70 hits and only received 5 votes for his Hall bid this past off-season. The great Alex Tarraga who is likely also in his last season, crossed over the 3k hit this season. Must be a proud moment for the future first ballot Hall of Famer given his other accolades. Of the players in the Hall at or near the 3k hit total, Johnson has the least amount of runs, doubles, triples, batting average, ops, and thanks to Yoenis Portillo, the second least HR and RBI total. He's middle of that pack in stolen bases. So needless to say he doesn't quite match up to the other Hall of Famers at the 3k Hit much. But so what you say, he still nabbed 3,000 hits. Something that Stan Ross was barely able to do. And you'd be absolutely correct, that's a huge accomplishment for a player, especially in this day and age where players are held back to stretch their prime years to fall within arbitration or their first extension. It's rare to see a guy last 18 seasons anymore. That's one thing you can count on top for, loyalty to his players and getting the most out of them.
In Johnson's prime years he was a .300+ hitter that offered 20ish HRs and low teens SBs; making NINE All-Star games, two Gold Gloves - one in RF the other at 1B, and was part of the S48 From My Loins championship team! S54 was the first time we started to see a little slip in his game, so many wondered if he'd get to 3k. He finished S54 with 2,723 hits after hitting .289 that season. His S55 left a lot to be desired but his age was catching up to him, hitting only .247 with only 124 hits and his lowest career OPS at .648. That bumped him to 2,847 hits; with one more guaranteed year on his contract he needed just 153 to reach the milestone.
Expectations were low entering S56, considering the drops in ratings he saw across the board. Ending S54 JJ was 73, 48, 56/81, 83 and enter S56 we saw him at 68, 37, 51/74, 77; with him dipping down to 63, 37, 46/65, 71 ending the season. If you know anything about Cobbfather you have to agree, how does a guy with such low ratings end up hitting .286 this season with a few games to play. It's gotta be his drive, the heart! This must be where experience shines. Props to top for getting every last squeeze of juice out of JJ this season.
If he does come back next seasons, we could easily see his ratings start the season somewhere around 58, 25, 58/60, 65. It might take him a full season of at-bats, but top can use JJ's leadership skills in the club house for a club entering their rebuild years. What's a few extra L's for a rebuilding club in hopes a Colorado Springs fan favorite hits the 3k mark!
In closing, I look forward to reviewing him in the HoF coverage in the short years to come.