Saturday, June 1, 1996

Just call it the "Blow That Jack Struck"

By AL PICKETT
Sports Editor

The Abilene Prairie Dogs had lost their first four games of the season at home last week and were opening their first road trip of the year in Harlingen against Rio Grande Valley.

The WhiteWings had taken an 8-6 lead into the eighth inning, and the Prairie Dogs appeared to be in danger of falling for the fifth straight time to open the season.

But up stepped Abilene catcher Jack Johnson. The 6-3, 205-pounder who played collegiately at the University of Arizona, belted a solo home run in the eighth inning to cut the Dogs' deficit in half.
Then in the ninth inning, Johnson launched a two-out, two-run homer that gave Abilene a dramatic 9-8 victory.

It was more than just a win, however. It served as a launching pad for a pennant drive in the Texas-Louisiana League for a Prairie Dogs' team which appears to be light years better than the one which played here last year in the inaugural season of baseball in Abilene.

"It helped," Johnson said of the homer. "It was a nice confidence builder. But there'll be nine different heroes on this team. No one player will carry this team. Everyone has found his role, and our confidence has been lifted to the next level."

That next level is pretty impressive. Just compare what's happened before and after the "Blow That Jack Struck":
* After going 0-4 to open the season, the Prairie Dogs are 7-1 in their next eight games, heading into Friday night's game with Alexandria.
* The Prairie Dogs raised their team batting average 35 points from .264 after four games to .299 after 12 games.
* The Prairie Dogs hit no homers in their first four games. They've hit 14 in their last eight.
* They averaged four runs per game in their first four. The Prairie Dogs have averaged 6-1/2 runs per game in their next eight.
* The Abilene pitching staff has lowered its team earned run average from 5.75 after four games to 3.60 after 12 games.

When the Prairie Dogs returned home last Monday after sweeping Rio Grande Valley, Johnson brought his bat with him, belting the team's first home run of the year in Scott Field, a towering shot that hit a light standard beyond the left-field fence.

"I grabbed a bat from (infielder) Tony Rich," Johnson said. "It's a smaller bat than I usually use. He told me not to break it. I told him don't worry, I'm going to swing hard. I'll either strike out or hit it out."

Oddly enough, Johnson, who is currently hitting .278 with eight RBI, is not a home run hitter. In fact, four home runs in one season is his professional record. His two-homer game in Rio Grande Valley was a first for Johnson.

But, as Johnson describes his professional career, he's "sat a good part of it."

Drafted in the 29th round out of Arizona by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991, one would need an atlas to keep up with Johnson's career.

"I've been released five times," Johnson said with a smile.

He spent his first season in Yakima, Wash. and 1992 in Bakersfield in the California League before being released by the Dodgers. The Chicago Cubs signed him in '93, and he spent the year hop-scotching between Class A Peoria, Ill., and Daytona, Fla., and Double-A Orlando, Fla.

In '94, the Chicago White Sox signed him, and he spent the year at Prince William in the Carolina League where he got only 70 at-bats the entire season.

Last year, the Cubs invited Johnson back to go through spring training while the major leaguers were on strike.

He spent a month in Orlando, three weeks in Rockford, Ill., and a week in Daytona. After going 3 for 7 at Daytona - and then sitting for a week - he asked for his release.

Johnson signed with Pueblo in the Texas-Louisiana League, but that franchise folded just a week and a half after he arrived.

So Johnson said he went home and played softball for a couple of weeks before calling the Cubs. They re-signed him and he spent the rest of the year at Orlando, catching one game a week - ending a year in which he had played for four teams in four different leagues.

Johnson went back to spring training this spring with the Cubs. But after going 1 for 2 with a double, he was released the next day.

"It's a business, and I accepted it," he said.

Johnson, however, had become acquainted with new Abilene manager Phil Stephenson in the Cubs' spring training camp last year. So when Stephenson called Johnson and invited him to Abilene, he jumped at the opportunity.

"I knew Phil and I respected him," Johnson said. "He said I'd play every day and help take care of the pitchers. It was the best decision of my career."

And Johnson is having a ball being the every-day catcher for the first time since his sophomore year at Arizona.

"It's such a great feeling," he said. "You can go 0 for 4 and it's not the end of the world. You've always got the next day.

"It's a great feeling, just to have a uniform and a chance to play - and get paid for it. The guys in the big leagues don't know how good they've got it."