Former Red Sox 1B coach, Ron Johnson, has landed a managerial spot back in AAA. Johnson will be managing the Norfolk Tides, AAA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. RJ is going back to a spot that he is very familiar with and has had plenty of experience in. For those of you unfamiliar with Ron Johnson, before his promotion to 1B coach in Boston, he was the Pawtucket Red Sox skipper for 5 seasons ('05-'09).
Johnson spent the last 2 seasons in the first-base coaching box, but was one of the first of Francona's staff to get a pink slip in the offseason. RJ will be back at McCoy for one series in 2012 for a 4-game set against the Pawsox.
Johnson is a pleasure to be around and is an excellent coach in the clubhouse. I have mentioned this many times before, but I had an opportunity to meet Johnson in Pawtucket a couple of years ago and he is a class-act with vast knowledge of the game. Hopefully this will help him land a job back in the majors.
Good luck, Ron!
