Joe Johnson | Baseball

• Pitched in 1981 and 1982 College World Series
• Three-year record of 18-10 at Maine. Threw three shutouts in one season. Best individual season record of 9-2 with 3.40 earned run average.
•  Named Co-MVP of NCAA Regional tournament in 1981. Shared the award with teammate Kevin Buckley.
• Selected in the 2^nd round, 37^th overall, by the Atlanta Braves in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft

 
Joe Johnson walked to the pitcher's mound to start a College World Series game for the John Winkin-coached University of Maine Black Bears that late spring day in 1982. The young pitcher carried a big chip on his shoulder and it was beyond personal.

Maine had been dismissed by the head coach of California State University, Fullerton, the country's second-ranked NCAA Division I baseball team. To this day, Johnson remembers the remark – of the eight teams in the College World Series, one didn't belong. That one was Maine.

Maine lost its first game, 7-2, to powerhouse Miami. Next up? Cal State Fullerton. Everyone on Maine's roster had a chip on his shoulder. But it was Johnson's turn to pitch. He threw a 6-0 shutout that day, striking out eight.

"We knocked the crap out them," says Johnson, not trying to hide the delight in his voice, 37 years later. "That year is unforgettable. We felt like we were playing for the whole state of Maine. We definitely felt (the state's) support."

After Maine beat Cal State Fullerton, Johnson found himself off the field with John Winkin. The legendary Maine coach was a master at keeping his emotions in check, especially after a victory. "I don't know that I ever saw him so happy," says Johnson. "He put his arm through mine and said, OK, now it's time to go talk to the press. I was genuinely happy for him."

"Joey was our power pitcher," says Ed "Poochie'' Pickett, Maine's power-hitting catcher nearly 30 years ago. "He threw strikes. Where ever I moved my mitt, he hit it. He was on that day."

Perhaps not coincidentally, the day after that start, the Atlanta Braves drafted Johnson in the second round of the annual Major League Baseball free agent draft. He was the 37^th overall pick and didn't return to Orono for fall classes. Johnson had a 10-year professional career including three years with the Braves and Toronto Blue Jays.

Despite the glamour of Major League Baseball and some of the crazy stories of life in the minor leagues, it is Johnson's three years at Maine that mean most to him.
 "In pro baseball you don't have a chance to play together as long. Guys come and go," says Johnson. "At Maine, the longer we played together, the closer we got. We really cared about each other. I remember Dickie Whitten. He didn't start a lot, but he was always ready to contribute. When I pitched, he had my warm-up jacket ready when I'd get back to the dugout.

"Who would think to do that? But that's the type of team we had that year (1982). I'd do anything for Dickie. I'd do anything for anybody on that team."

Johnson and Billy Swift formed a one-two pitching punch that was difficult to overcome. "Billy was our finesse pitcher," says Pickett. "Joey had the fastball. He could throw 94 (mph). He was tough to hit."

Johnson grew up south of Boston at a time when baseball's hold on youngsters was all-encompassing. "It was the first organized sport we could play. I started out as a catcher. I loved putting on the gear.

"Teammates, dugouts, eye black, uniforms, cleats – I couldn't get enough. My dad was the coach after (the first year of youth baseball) so we got to take the equipment bag home after games. My brothers and the neighborhood kids would play all day and then go to our games at night.

Johnson played football, too. In winter it was pond hockey. "Bobby Orr had us all mesmerized," says Johnson. "But baseball was king. Yaz (Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski) was my hero. I wore No. 8 all through Little League."

The University of Maine wasn't on Johnson's radar. He dreamed a southern university baseball powerhouse would recruit him. None did. An umpire working a Massachusetts American Legion baseball tournament, happened to be a Maine alum. He tipped off John Winkin.

"He pursued me, came to watch me play and said he really wanted me to come to Maine." That interest was enough. Johnson saw Maine play Harvard in Cambridge. "They all looked like major leaguers."

Johnson told Winkin he was coming to Orono.

Johnson still lives in the southeastern Massachusetts area. He's helped others coach baseball but believes he was a much better pitcher than coach. Up until five or six years ago, he says, he played with other former major leaguers such as Bill Lee and Rick Miller. The opposing teams would be local police or firefighters in fundraisers that went to charities.

He keeps in touch with Maine teammates through social media and get-togethers. At the last one he planned to stay a few hours. "I was there until the wee hours."

Johnson laughs. He's content. "Look, I was in the right place at the right time."

-Steve Solloway-

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The 2019 UMaine Sports Hall of Fame class will be honored at an induction banquet on Friday, Sept. 13 at Jeff's Catering in Brewer. For more details, click here.