Howard Johnson was struck by an Erik Gonzalez line-drive foul ball in the left eye last night during the Texas Rangers’ Cactus League game.
Johnson, as we all know, was a part of the 1986 World Series Champion Mets team. He played for the Mets from 1985-1993 and also was a coach (first base and hitting) for the Mets for four seasons.
The 57-year old had been serving as the manager for the Texas Rangers Class-A team, but is set to serve as a hitting instructor for the Triple-A this season.
Elvis Andrus said this regarding the incident, as detailed by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News:
“It was ugly. He was awake and responding to questions, so that was good, but it’s scary and you are worried. We are all part of this family.”
Dominic Cotroneo heard this from Howard Johnson after he was released from the hospital:
“I’m gonna be fine in a couple weeks. No surgery – the fractures should heal without it.”
This is very good news and we at MMO wish HoJo a speedy recovery.
