OAKLAND –Fifteen years ago Daniel “Jet” Johnson was 10 years old and he couldn’t get enough of the Oakland A’s.
Jermaine Dye was his favorite player. Every chance he got Johnson would take the BART with his family or friends from nearby Vallejo, Calif., to the Coliseum. A long concrete bridge connects the BART station to the Coliseum and Johnson can still remember walking across it eager to see Dye and the A’s.
On Sunday, Johnson wasn’t watching the A’s, he was playing against them. Not only was playing against his favorite team growing up, he was helping the Indians beat them, 4-2.
“If you told me I would’ve had that game and been playing here 15 years ago, I would’ve told you you’re crazy,” said Johnson. “I never thought I’d be here, playing at the Coliseum where I grew up. It’s definitely a blessing to be here right now.”
Johnson’s big-league career consists of 13 games. No one knows what direction that number will take. It doesn’t matter because Sunday was the best of those 13 games by a lot.
It started with Johnson’s diving catch in right field to save a run for Zach Plesac in the second inning. He singled and scored in the fifth. In the seventh, with the score tied, 2-2, Johnson delivered the hit he won’t forget — a tiebreaking home run to center field that ended a 10-game winning streak for Oakland ace Chris Bassitt and gave the Indians a 3-2 lead.
As he rounded third and crossed the plate, he could hear his family and friends cheering from the stands.
“I could hear them coming in from the field and headed to the dugout,” said Johnson.
So could his teammates.
“You have to give shouts to Jet,” said Plesac, who won his first game since May 18. “I mean this is Jet’s game today, realistically. He did everything — saved a run in the second inning, gets a couple of hits, go-ahead homer and in his hometown.
“It’s just cool for him. It was a cool experience for me to see him do that in front of his family. It’s good to see him out there with things finally going his way, you know what I mean?”
This was a game for the Indians’ forgotten outfielders — Johnson and Bradley Zimmer. A surprise move by manager Terry Francona put Zimmer in the leadoff spot and it must have lit a fuse inside the 6-5 left-handed hitter.
Zimmer opened the game with a first-pitch home run. He went 3-for-5 with three RBI. It was his first three-hit game since 2018 and the last time he drove in three runs was July 25, 2017 against the Angels. Zimmer, whose play in center has brought order to to a shaky outfield, hit his first and second homers of the season in this three-game series.
Make no mistake, the outfield has a help wanted sign staked in front of all three positions. If Johnson or Zimmer want one of those jobs, it’s there. But they have to hit.
Zimmer said he feels more comfortable than he has in a long time at the plate.
“We talked about being athletic and getting himself in a position where he can take more good passes at the ball,” said Francona. “You are seeing more good swings. He’s lined out a few times, that’s going to happen. But if that’s the only ball you hit hard, it’s hard to survive.
“We’re dying for him to succeed. We’ve told him that. So we’re pulling for him.”
The same goes for Johnson.
“He can move,” said Francona. “He can move in the outfield and he can throw. Physically, he can do some things. That’s why we get excited when he starts to hit like that.”
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