Reed Johnson was one of those scrappy players who became a fan favorite by virtue of pluck. Despite a promising start to his career in Toronto, Johnson was often overlooked and relegated to fourth outfielder status.
As a rookie for the Blue Jays in 2003, Johnson slashed .294/.353/.427 and slugged 10 home runs. In his first Major League Baseball start on April 20, 2003, Johnson was hit by a pitch, knocked in a run with his first career hit, and was then hit with another pitch. He got plunked 20 times that season, just one shy of league leader Jason Giambi’s total. Johnson did not receive a single American League Rookie of the Year vote.
In 2006 Johnson slashed .319/.390/.479 with an OPS+ of 124. He also clubbed a career-high 12 home runs and led Major League Baseball with 21 HBP. He also posted a career-best bWAR of 5.1 but did not receive a single MVP vote—despite posting a bWAR higher than winner Justin Morneau (4.3).
In 2007, Johnson missed some time in spring training with nagging back issues. Regardless, he was Toronto’s Opening Day left fielder and played every inning of seven of the Blue Jays’ first eight games. However, he sat out the game in Detroit on April 12 when he “showed up at the ballpark with a wonky lower back.” Johnson did not return to the lineup until July 6 and ended the season with his worst offensive output as a Major Leaguer. Johnson was released by Toronto on March 23, 2008 and signed a couple of days later with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent.
On April 25, 2008 Johnson was in center field as the Cubs visited the Washington Nationals. In the fifth inning Felipe López drove a ball to deep center field destined for extra bases. On a dead sprint, Johnson did his best Superman impression. He laid out, landed on the warning track, and crashed into the wall. He leapt up with the bill of his hat askew and the ball in his glove. Although the Cubs eventually lost the game, that single play epitomized Reed Johnson’s grit and instantly endeared him to Cubs fans everywhere.
Mired in a May 2008 slump that saw Johnson’s batting average drop 40 points to .256, however, the Cubs signed Jim Edmonds to a free agent deal on May 14, after Edmonds had been given his outright release by San Diego. By the end of 2008, Johnson had worked himself back to .303/.358/.420 in 374 plate appearances.
Despite his contributions during the regular season, Johnson did not make an appearance in the NLDS for the Cubs, with Edmonds making all three starts in center as the Cubs were swept by the Dodgers. The Cubs granted Edmonds his free agency in October 2008.
On January 9, 2009, the Cubs signed Milton Bradley (and all his baggage) to a free agent contract following his season in Texas in which Bradley had led the American League in OBP (.436), OPS (.999) and OPS+ (162). Bradley was given the starting role in right field and Kosuke Fukudome was moved over to center.
On Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009, the Cubs played in Milwaukee. Bradley started in right field for the Cubs and was hit by a pitch in his second plate appearance leading off the top of the fourth inning. Johnson came to run for Bradley and eventually scored on a bases loaded walk to Koyie Hill. The Cubs batted around and Johnson came to the plate, ending the inning on a ground out.
The Cubs were staked to a 6-2 lead as the Brewers came to bat in the bottom of the fifth. Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster gave up singles to Rickie Weeks and Craig Counsell and then hit Ryan Braun with a pitch. With no outs and the bases loaded, slugger Prince Fielder strode to the plate. Fielder murdered Dempster’s 1-1 offering to right field, a towering ball destined for the seats; a dramatic game-tying grand slam.
Johnson turned and gave chase. He timed his jump and leapt, extending his glove a foot and a half above the wall. He came down with the ball in his glove and fired it back into the infield. Fielder stood near first base, dumbfounded. That well-struck ball with so much promise ended up an ordinary sacrifice fly in the box score. The Cubs hung on for an 8-5 victory in front of 40,000-plus at Miller Park.
This play is Reed Johnson’s favorite career highlight.
Ultimately, Johnson’s playing time was limited for the Cubs in 2009, as he appeared in just 65 games. After a disappointing season in Los Angeles in 2010, Johnson returned to the Cubs in 2011 as a free agent.
Johnson appeared in the 2011 Topps Update set as a member of the Cubs. The photo shows him in what appears to be a (walk-off?) home run trot. He is screaming with his hands are balled up in fists. This was probably an exciting moment in his career, so when did it happen?
Some clues from the photo include a home uniform and the distinctive wall along Wrigley Field’s first base line. Johnson is wearing long sleeves, so it was probably an early-season game. The stands look empty, so it may be cold and/or an extra innings affair. The patches on the uniform were no help, and neither was the identification of Majestic as manufacturer.
Considering that Johnson had played two previous seasons with Chicago, the search began with Johnson’s home run log. He hit 65 home runs in his career but there were no April home runs at Wrigley Field and no walk-offs during his prior stint with the team. Accordingly, it seemed probable that the photo used in the 2011 Topps Update set had actually been taken earlier that same season.
I had an opportunity to speak with Johnson at the 2026 Cubs Convention. I first told him I was personally at that 2009 game in Milwaukee when he robbed Prince Fielder. [I also let him know that we were not paying attention very well and when the right fielder went up to grab that ball, we all thought Milton Bradley was still in the game. Doh.] This is when I learned that was Johnson’s favorite catch of all time. There is no doubt as to why.
I also wanted to see if we could pinpoint the date the photo was taken on his 2011 Topps Update card. As Johnson signed the card, he knew immediately it was an extra-inning walk-off home run against the Padres—his only walk off home run as a Cub. Not surprisingly, this was another one of his favorite baseball memories.
However, if I had been paying better attention, I could have just looked at the back of the card, which plainly indicated “On April 21, 2011, he rocked Wrigley with an 11th inning homer vs. San Diego.”
Mystery solved?
Well, not quite. The card does not exactly say the photo was from that particular home run. And even more troubling was that the Cubs did not play a game against anyone on April 21, 2011.
However, Reed Johnson did hit an 11th inning walk-off home run off Padres twirler Luke Gregerson on April 20, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 victory in the first game of a weather-related Wednesday doubleheader.
Mystery solved and uncorrected errors confirmed! (Topps included that incorrect walk-off home run date on Johnson’s 2012 card, as well.)
Sources:
Baseball-Reference.com
Retrosheet.org
TCDB.com
Author conversation with Reed Johnson, January 17, 2026
Robert MacLeod, “Toronto’s Offence Hurting,” The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), April 13, 2007, 111.
