Elliot Johnson (baseball): Difference between revisions

Johnson made the [[Tampa Bay Rays]] opening day roster for the 2008 season. On April 5, 2008, he made his debut against the [[New York Yankees]] as the team's [[designated hitter]]. He had four at bats and recorded his first major league hit, a [[single (baseball)|single]] off of [[Andy Pettitte]].<ref>{{cite web|date=April 5, 2008|title=Gomes, Rays pound Pettitte, dump Yankees|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/280405110|url-status=livedead|access-date=January 27, 2014|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=[[ESPN]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203022945/http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?id=280405110 |archive-date=2014-02-03 }}</ref> He had three hits in 19 at-bats over seven games for the Devil Rays that season before he was sent back down to Durham. He spent the next two seasons in the minors, missing two months in 2009 with a fractured thumb. In 2010, he hit .319 for Durham and was selected to appear in the Triple-A All-Star game. He was also named the Bulls most valuable player.

John Romano of ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' wrote in March 2011 that he was likely one of three players competing for two spots on the Rays bench, with the other two being outfielder [[Sam Fuld]] and first baseman [[Casey Kotchman]].<ref name="tampabay1">{{cite news|author=Romano|first=John|title=Perspective is strength of Tampa Bay Rays hopeful Sam Fuld|work=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|url=http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/article1156112.ece|url-status=dead|access-date=March 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914034406/http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/article1156112.ece|archive-date=September 14, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Johnson made the opening day roster, along with Fuld. On May 15, 2011, he hit his first major league home run against Baltimore Orioles pitcher [[Jake Arrieta]].<ref>{{cite web|date=May 15, 2011|title=J.J. Hardy hits grand slam in Orioles' lopsided win|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310515130|url-status=livedead|access-date=January 27, 2014|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=[[ESPN]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518154540/http://scores.espn.go.com:80/mlb/recap?gameId=310515130 |archive-date=2011-05-18 }}</ref> On August 12, 2011, he was one of 5 Rays to hit solo home runs off [[CC Sabathia]] in a 5-1 Tampa Bay victory.<ref>[http://www.thebaseballpage.com/baseball-history/rays-hit-5-solo-homeruns-cc-sabathia "Rays hit 5 Solo Homeruns vs Sabathia"], The Baseball Page</ref> Johnson was designated for assignment on February 5, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.tbo.com/sports/rays/2013/feb/05/tampa-bay-rays-officially-sign-farnsworth-kelly-jo-ar-626201/|title=Tampa Bay Rays officially sign Farnsworth, Kelly Johnson|last=Mooney|first=Roger|date=February 5, 2013|access-date=February 5, 2013}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gleeman|first=Aaron|date=February 5, 2013|title=Rays designate Reid Brignac and Elliot Johnson for assignment|url=http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/05/rays-designate-reid-brignac-for-assignment/|url-status=live|access-date=February 5, 2013|publisher=[[NBC Sports]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209071617/http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com:80/2013/02/05/rays-designate-reid-brignac-for-assignment/ |archive-date=2013-02-09 }}</ref> In part of three seasons with the Devil Rays/Rays, he hit .223 with 10 homers and 50 RBI.