Mark Stephen Johnson (November 18, 1950 – October 26, 2016) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
from 1979 to 1999, wearing uniform number 25 when the AL adopted them in 1980. Johnson was an umpire in the
1993 World Series
The 1993 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 90th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the defending World Series champion and American League (AL) cham ...
and the
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
and
1999 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1999 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 70th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 13 ...
. In his career, he umpired 1,979 Major League games.
Early career
Johnson spent several years as a minor league umpire in the
Gulf Coast League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...
,
Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...
,
Southern League and
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
.
Notable games
Johnson left a 1982 Oakland-Toronto game with a broken hand after a pitch from
Matt Keough
Matthew Lon Keough ( ; July 3, 1955 – May 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Oakland Athletics (1977–1983), New York Yankees (1983� ...
hit
Willie Upshaw
Willie Clay Upshaw (born April 27, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball player who played first base for the Toronto Blue Jays (1978, 1980–1987) and Cleveland Indians (1988), both of the American League.
Following his Major League ...
after which the ball then struck Johnson, who was working home plate. Third base umpire
Rich Garcia
Richard Raul Garcia (born May 22, 1942) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who worked in the American League (AL) from 1975 to 1999. Garcia wore uniform number 19 when the AL adopted numbers for its umpires in 1980.
U ...
replaced Johnson behind the plate.
He left a 1985 Yankees-Indians game by stretcher after being struck on the left side of the groin by a fastball from
Brian Fisher. Although the ball glanced off the catcher's mitt of
Ron Hassey
Ronald William Hassey (born February 27, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians (1978–1984), Chicago Cubs (1984), New York Yankees (1985–1986) ...
, it still hit Johnson with enough force to injure him.
In 1994, Johnson and his crew received a police escort following a spring training game. In that game, Johnson had a heated confrontation with
Gary DiSarcina
Gary Thomas DiSarcina (born November 19, 1967) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and coach. He played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the California / Anaheim Angels.
Shortstop for Angels (1992–98)
A fo ...
. DiSarcina was ejected from the game, but claimed Johnson instigated the dispute by insulting DiSarcina's hitting ability. Two players alleged Johnson told DiSarcina, "You're a .220 hitter and I'm going to (get) you all year." The ejection was DiSarcina's first as a professional baseball player.
Resignation
Johnson was one of 22 umpires who lost their jobs amid the
1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation
The 1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation was a labor tactic used by 68 Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires, including 66 members of the Major League Umpires Association (MLUA), the official umpires union at the time. Unable to st ...
. The resignations, which were intended as a bargaining strategy, backfired when Major League Baseball simply accepted them and hired replacements from the minor leagues.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball umpires (disambiguation)
Lists of Major League Baseball umpires include:
* List of Major League Baseball umpires (A–F)
* List of Major League Baseball umpires (G–M)
* List of Major League Baseball umpires (N–Z)
See also
* List of Major League Baseball umpiring ...
References
External links
Umpire Card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mark
1950 births
2016 deaths
American League umpires
Major League Baseball umpires
Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky