1977 Topps Baseball #597 - Seattle Mariners / Darrell Johnson

• Darrell Johnson was a catcher who played in parts of seven seasons from 1952-1962. He started out with the St. Louis Browns and also played for the Chicago White Sox in 1952. Darrell then played in the minors for the next four seasons. He posted some good hitting stats in the Yankees system in AAA in 1955 (.306) and in 1956 (.319). Johnson became Yogi Berra's backup catcher in 1957, but he didn't get a lot of playing time (.217 in 21 games in 1957 and .250 in 5 games in 1958). Johnson was back in AAA in 1959 since the Yankees had Elston Howard. The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Darrell in the Rule 5 draft after the 1959 season. Johnson played for the Cardinals for a short time in 1960 and then he was released as a player and added as a coach. Darrell continued as a coach until the middle of the 1961 season. When manager Solly Hemus was fired, Johnson went with him. Darrell signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a player (.230 in 21 games). He was sold to the Cincinnati Reds in mid August and batted .315 in 20 games. Johnson appeared in the 1961 World Series and was 2 for 4 in 2 games. In 1962 Johnson stared the year with the Reds (0 for 2 in 8 games). He was released in April and signed with the Baltimore Orioles. Darrell batted .182 in 6 games before being released in June. He served as the bullpen coach for the Orioles for the rest of the year. Darrell served as a minor league manager (1963-1966) as a scout (1967) and as the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox (1968-1969). After manager Dick Williams was fired in 1969, Johnson returned to managing in the minors. He had some success there and was brought in to manage the Boston Red Sox in 1974. Johnson led the Red Sox to the 1975 World Series, but he was fired in July 1976 after a slow start. Darrell became the first manager of the Seattle Mariners and managed them from 1977 until mid-1980. Johnson coached for the Texas Rangers in 1981 and in 1982. He became the manager of the Rangers in July 1982 and finished the season with them. Johnson then worked for the New York Mets for several years as a coach and in other positions. Darrell died of leukemia in 2004.
• Darrell Johnson's SABR biography
• Don Bryant - I think this is the first time I have seen a bullpen coach on a card. Bryant was a catcher who spent most of his career (1960-1973) in the minors. Don had a few brief stints in the majors in 1966, 1969, and 1970 (220 in 59 games). Bryant was Johnson's bullpen coach in Boston (1974-1976) and in Seattle (1977-1980).
• Jim Busby - Busby was an outfielder for six teams from 1950-1962 (,262 in 1352 games). Busby was a coach in the major leagues from 1962-1978. Jim passed away in 1996.
• Vada Pinson - Pinson would have been a Hall of Fame outfielder if it weren't for injuries. He played in the majors from 1958-1975 (.286, 2757 hits, 256 HR). Pinson was a major league coach from 1977-1994. Vada died of a stroke in 1995. Vada Pinson's SABR biography
• Wes Stock - Wes was a major league pitcher from 1959-1967 (27-13, 3.60 ERA). Stock was a pitching coach for several major league teams (including the World Champion Oakland A's of 1973 and 1974) from 1967-1981 and again from 1984-1986. 

Record: 64-98, 6th in AL West, 38 games behind Kansas City

• Attendance:  1,338,511 (8th in AL)
• Team Batting: .256 (11th in AL)
• Team HR: 133 (8th in AL)
• Team Stolen Bases: 110 (5th in AL)
• Team ERA: 4.83 (14th in AL)
• Team Fielding: .976 (10th in AL)
• All Stars: Ruppert Jones (OF)
• Awards:  none
• AL Leaders: none
• Batting Leader: Leroy Stanton (.275)
• Home Run Leader: Leroy Stanton (27)
• RBI Leader: Leroy Stanton / Dan Meyer (90)
• Stolen Base Leader: Dave Collins (25)
• Victories Leader: Glenn Abbott (12)
• Losses Leader: Glenn Abbott (13)
• Strikeout Leader: Enrique Romo (105)
• Saves Leader: Enrique Romo (16)
• ERA Leader (starters): Glenn Abbott (4.45) ; (pitchers who started more than half of their appearances)
• ERA Leader (relievers): Enrique Romo (2.83)
• Players who could have had Mariners cards in 1977 (batters with over 100 AB, pitchers with over 40 innings) :
• Craig Reynolds (SS) - .248 in 135 games
• Jose Baez (2B) - .259 in 91 games
• Larry Milbourne (IF) - .219 in 86 games 
• Julio Cruz (2B) - .256 in 60 games
• Skip Jutze (C) - .220 in 42 games
• Tom House (P) - 4-5, 1 save, 3.93 ERA in 26 games (11 starts)
• Mike Kekich (P) - 5-4, 3 saves, 5.60 ERA in 41 games (2 starts)
• Enrique Romo (P) - 8-10, 16 saves, 2.83 ERA in 58 games (3 starts)
• John Montague (P) - 8-12, 4 saves, 4.29 ERA in 47 games (15 starts)