Happy 35th birthday to our favorite journeyman minor leaguer, Keith Johns. As you may remember from a post I wrote back in May, Brant Brown, Chaim Witz and myself met Mr. Johns at the Gingerman Tavern, where we drank the last known supply of Schlitz in a bottle on this planet. Keith told us all sorts of stories from his days as a minor league player with the Cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals and a handful of other teams. He spoke to us of the rampant use of steroids long before any congressional hearing was held and the subject of Barry Bonds enormous cranium was still whispered about.Keith had a cup of coffee with the Red Sox back in 1998. Here's what his Wikipedia page says about his extremely brief stint in the show.
- Keith Johns made his only major league plate appearance on May 23, 1998 as a Red Sox, pinch-hitting for Jim Leyritz in a game versus the Yankees. He was walked by reliever Jeff Nelson in the ninth inning but did not score. He was a late-game defensive replacement at second base three days later in his second and final major league game.
So if you have a can of Schlitz in the fridge, crack it open and toast one to the man, the myth, the legend. Mr. Johns, we here at Thunder Matt's Saloon salute you.
2 comments:
How about that pic of his Front Row card? Frickin' Front Row! I forgot about those. They were right up there with 'Classic' for shitty wannabe sports card brands. I think those stupid round cards you found at the bottom of a can of Jerky Stuff were worth more.
How about Topps "Big" cards? Those glossy bastards were about the size of a placemat. You could never put your good cards in a plastic case or sheet cause they were too fucking big!
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