Maybe it was inevitable that Davey Johnson’s tenure as Reds manager would end in a strange fashion. After all, he was given the job under bizarre circumstances, and Reds owner Marge Schott made certain that every day thereafter was, ummm, interesting. Somehow, Johnson emerged as one of the Reds greatest, yet most underrated, managers of all time.
After the 1992 season, Lou Piniella resigned as Reds manager after three years of dealing with Marge’s eccentricities.* Remember when she rubbed hair from her beloved St. Bernard, Schottzie, on Piniella’s chest on Opening Day? Piniella could have been Reds manager forever after winning the 1990 World Series, but he’d had enough.
*Is that a polite way to put it?
Two days later, general manager Bob Quinn was fired, paving the way for 31-year old Jim Bowden to take over the helm of the Reds’ front office. His first order of business: naming Reds legend Tony Perez as the club’s new manager. A popular member of the Big Red Machine, it was a brilliant way to mute fan frustration over Piniella’s abrupt resignation.
Perez lasted until May 24, when Bowden fired him via a short telephone call after starting the season with a 20-24 record. It was a stunning move, a heartless way to dispatch one of the greatest players in Cincinnati history. Fans were irate; death threats rolled in, requiring around-the-clock police protection for Bowden.
Enter Davey Johnson. In the wake of the controversial firing, Bowden handed the reins to Johnson, a consultant with the team who had been a successful manager with the New York Mets from 1984 to 2000. That tenure, of course, included a World Series championship in 1986. Though Johnson arrived under controversial circumstances, there was one issue he wouldn’t have to deal with, at least not for the moment: Marge Schott.
In early February of 1993, Schott was suspended for one year by Major League Baseball for racial and ethnic comments “indicating an insensitivity that cannot be tolerated by anyone in baseball.” She retained control of the team as the general partner, but MLB banned her from the stadium and day to day control of the team.
Johnson only went 53-65 the rest of the way in 1993, but the Reds were poised for big things in 1994. Schott returned, however, and continued to wreak havoc. In April, she announced that she would ignore a new city ordinance that banned smoking at the ballpark. Schott said that fans who didn’t like it should “get up and walk out.”*
*She was rewarded by being named Grand Marshall of the Ohio Tobacco Festival parade in Ripley, Ohio later in the year.
In September, MLB owners voted 26-2 to cancel the remainder of the season a month after the players went on strike.* The Reds ended the season with a 66-48 record, in first place in the National League’s Central division. Everyone still talks about the great Montreal Expos team of that year, but the Reds had a real chance to win their second championship in five seasons. I will believe that until I draw my final breath.**
*Schott was one of the two “no” votes, along with Orioles owner Peter Angelos.
**I hope the Reds win another championship before that day, but I’m not optimistic at the moment.
If you’ve been a long-time subscriber to The Riverfront, you’ve probably already read my loving tribute to the 1995 Reds. Here’s a story I left out of that narrative.
In 1995, Davey Johnson wanted to hire John Stearns as a coach. A former Mets catcher, Stearns had been a scout with the Reds earlier in the decade. In ‘94, Stearns managed Cincinnati’s rookie-league affiliate in Princeton, WV, and led them to the Appalachian League championship.
Davey, who had managed Stearns in New York, wanted Stearns on his big league coaching staff. But this was the year when the simmering drama between Johnson and Schott came to a head. Before the season, Schott had told Johnson that the upcoming season would be his last in Cincinnati. Ray Knight was the chosen heir to the throne, while Johnson would be “promoted” to a team consultant in 1996.
Here’s the way the Washington Post described the biggest reason Schott wanted Johnson out:
"I told Susan, 'Marge is making me marry you,'‚" Davey Johnson says. Susan is laughing: "So we had to get married."
That would be Marge Schott, owner of the Cincinnati Reds, famous for her dog who has the run of the field and her laudatory comments about Nazi Germany, who publicly disapproved of the Johnsons' cohabitation before they were married. (They tied the knot at sunset on Jan. 15, 1994, on Islamorada in Davey's beloved Florida Keys.) Schott said it "bothered" her that the divorcees were living together without being married. Not long after, she fired Johnson as manager of the (winning) Reds. Cause and effect? With Schott, who can tell? The Cincinnati media agreed that she never liked Johnson.
Ultimately, Schott vetoed the hiring of Stearns, refusing to pay his salary. And that’s when the conspiracy began. You can almost imagine Johnson and Reds general manager Jim Bowden hiding in a darkened room as they hatched a plot to get Stearns on the big league coaching staff. They hired him, and “buried his salary in the fine print of the budget,” according to Greg Rhodes and John Snyder in the indispensable “Redleg Journal.”
Of course, Stearns couldn’t wear a uniform. Marge would have noticed that, presumably. Around Riverfront Stadium, Stearns kept out of Schott’s sight as much as possible. Mostly, Johnson/Bowden/Stearns counted on Schott just not recognizing him, as she was legendary for being unable to remember names and put them with faces. And it worked! Stearns did coach all season for the Reds, who won the division and advanced to the NLCS before falling to the Braves. It was one of the most memorable seasons in recent Reds history.
Yet, after the season, both Johnson and Stearns were gone. Johnson went on to manage in Baltimore, and a few years later, the Mets actually let Stearns put on a uniform as a coach. All’s well that ends well, I guess?*
*For his part, Ray Knight ended up as one of the least memorable managers in club history, posting a 125-137 record.
Schott, of course, was forced to sell the Reds in 1999. That same year, Johnson reflected on his positive memories from his Reds tenure. Including Schott:
“Yeah, even Marge,” Johnson said. “She called me to have a glass of red wine once because she knows I like red wine. But I like it better when it hasn’t been chilled and doesn’t come with a screw-off cap.”
Johnson finished his three seasons in Cincinnati with a record of 204-172 and two first-place finishes. It’s a record that rivals the best managers in club history. Alas, he just wasn’t good enough for Marge Schott. <facepalm emoji>
The Riverfront: A Cincinnati Reds Show
Former big leaguer Carlos Guevara joined me again this week to discuss everything happening in Cincinnati Reds spring training and how to improve the World Baseball Classic. Joey Votto has returned to the lineup, and the Reds surprisingly sent Elly De La Cruz, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Matt McLain to minor league camp. What does this mean going forward? Also, what's the deal with Jose Barrero?
This week, Reds broadcaster John Sadak joined Late Night Reds Talk at The Riverfront. It was a great conversation and I hope you’ll check them out on our video and audio feeds.
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and don’t hesitate to smash that thumbs-up button while you’re at it. You can also subscribe to the audio version of The Riverfront wherever fine podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
You can follow me on Twitter @dotsonc, if you’d like. The Riverfront is on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube too. You can also join The Riverfront Family at Patreon.
Wow, crazy story. Great article!