Mets reflect on passing of Davey Johnson, the ultimate 'players' manager'
Mets manager Davey Johnson talks with reporters at Shea Stadium prior to the opening game of the World Series between the Mets and the Red Sox on Oct. 18, 1986. Credit: AP/Paul Benoit
CINCINNATI — Great American Ball Park was quiet Saturday evening as the crowd stood to attention for the scoreboard message honoring the life and legacy of Davey Johnson.
The visiting dugout was represented by the Mets — the franchise Johnson revived as manager in the mid-80s, bringing them their first pennant in more than a decade and their most recent World Series championship in 1986.
In the home dugout, there were the Reds, the team Johnson transformed when he took the helm, eventually bringing them their first division title in five years.
But though there’s plenty of evidence of Johnson revitalizing, resuscitating, or transforming, there was a theme to the many tributes that filtered in when news broke that had died Friday at age 82 after a long illness: He often effected franchise-defining change by letting individuals be true to who they already were.
“Davey was instrumental in my career,” Keith Hernandez wrote in a message to Newsday. “He let me be me on the field for the first time in my career, much to the betterment of my performance . . . He was the right man at the right time.”
Darryl Strawberry said via a statement: “Davey Johnson was the greatest manager I ever played for. He let us do our own thing.”
Added Mookie Wilson: “He was just a players’ manager. He made it fun to go to the field. He laid down the law when needed, but other times he just let us play.”
Or, perhaps it’s more apt to quote Johnson himself, found in “The Worst Team Money Could Buy,” an account of the 1992 Mets, then managed by Jeff Torborg.
“I treated my players like men,” Johnson said. “As long as they won for me on the field, I didn’t give a flying [expletive] what they did otherwise.”
Sometimes the byproducts weren’t all that pretty. The 1986 Mets are remembered almost as much for their rabble-rousing as for their winning, and Johnson butted heads with Mets general manager Frank Cashen and, later, Reds owner Marge Schott.
But one thing was certain: Johnson showed up for his players and his players showed up for him.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Major League player and manager Davey Johnson.
— MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2025
In 8 years with the Orioles from 1965-72, Johnson was a 3-time All-Star, won 3 Gold Glove Awards, and was part of four AL pennant winners and two World Series champions (1966… pic.twitter.com/ky3uQnFU2w
“He had the most wins and won the World Series — transforming the organization and putting it back in winning mode,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday. “When you’re talking to some of the former players that played for him and the impact that he had on them, not only on the field but off the field, it was unbelievable. It’s a sad day for the organization.”
Johnson, an All-Star four times in his 13-year playing career, owns a franchise-record 595 wins as Mets manager. He and Cashen are Mets Hall of Famers, and “both men deserve to be recognized up in the rafters at Citi Field,” Hernandez said.
“He led with a quiet confidence and unwavering belief in his team, always caring deeply for his players both on and off the field,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen added in a statement.
Johnson’s passing reverberated around the rest of Major League Baseball, too: The Yankees held a moment of silence on Saturday even though he never played for or managed the team.
On their “X’’ account, the Yankees wrote: “Prior to today’s game, we held a moment of silence to remember former New York Mets Manager Davey Johnson. Johnson won two World Series as a player during his 13-year big league career. We send our deepest condolences to his loved ones.”
The Orioles, with whom he spent the first eight seasons of his playing career and managed to two playoff appearances, mourned him on social media, as did the MLB “X’’ account.
“Getting to the major leagues is tough,” Ron Darling said in a statement. “Succeeding in the major leagues is even harder, and to accomplish that, you need a guardian angel. Davey was my guardian angel.”
Johnson was instrumental in calling up promising rookie Dwight Gooden in 1984. “He took a chance on me when I was 19,” Gooden wrote. “Davey wasn’t afraid to make a tough decision. I know I wouldn’t have had the career I did without him.”
And through his well-recorded tiffs with various team brass and through a fruitful but tumultuous career, one thing remained constant: “Davey was really a forward thinker,’’ Roger McDowell wrote. “He knew his players’ strengths and weaknesses. He always set us up to have success as a team and individually.”
And there’s that theme again: Johnson, one of a kind, knew that every player was one of a kind, too. And therein lay their strength.
His, too.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
