Micah Johnson (baseball)

Micah Drew Johnson (born December 18, 1990) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves.

Micah Johnson
Johnson with the Chicago White Sox
Second baseman
Born: (1990-12-18) December 18, 1990
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 6, 2015, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 2017, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
Batting average.224
Home runs0
Runs batted in4
Teams

Amateur baseball career

Johnson attended Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Indiana University Bloomington, where he played college baseball for the Indiana Hoosiers baseball team.[1] In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2]

Professional baseball career

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox selected Johnson in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He started his career in 2012 with the rookie level Great Falls Voyagers. He finished the 2012 season hitting .273 in 271 at-bats with, 10 doubles, five triples, four home runs, 25 runs batted in (RBIs), and 19 stolen bases. Johnson was promoted to the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A South Atlantic League for the start of the 2013 season. There, he hit .342 in 304 at-bats with 17 doubles, 11 triples, six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 61 stolen bases. Due to his stellar play in the first half of the 2013 season, Johnson was promoted to the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and then the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League for the final week of the season. Johnson finished the 2013 season hitting a combined .312 in 536 at bats, 24 doubles, 15 triples, seven home runs, 58 RBIs, 50 walks, 98 strikeouts and 84 stolen bases.[3][4]

Johnson began the 2014 season with Birmingham, and was promoted to the Charlotte Knights of the Class AAA International League in May.[5][6] His season ended in August due to an injury to his left hamstring.[7]

Johnson earned a spot on the White Sox 2015 opening day roster, batting ninth and played second base.[8] He record his first major league hit, a single, in his second plate appearance.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 16, 2015, Johnson was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers (with Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson) as part of a three team trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox and José Peraza, Brandon Dixon and Scott Schebler to the Cincinnati Reds.[9] He was assigned to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers to begin the season.[10] He appeared in seven games in the majors, with one hit in six at-bats[11] and 120 games in Oklahoma City, where he had a .261 batting average.[12] The Dodgers designated him for assignment on January 10, 2017.[13]

Atlanta Braves

On January 13, 2017, Johnson was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.[14] Johnson fractured his wrist while making a diving catch in a spring training game on March 14.[15] After surgery and rehabilitation, Johnson played eleven games for the Gwinnett Braves and was promoted to Atlanta on July 28.[16]

Later career

On October 26, 2017, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds[17] He was designated for assignment a couple days later.[18] On October 30, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.[19] He was designated for assignment on November 25. Johnson was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays on November 27.[20] On February 13, 2018, he was outrighted to the minors by the Rays and removed from the 40-man roster.[21] He played for the Durham Bulls in 2018 and elected free agency on November 2.

Art career

Retiring from baseball after the 2018 season, Johnson shifted his focus to creating artwork, a hobby he had only started 3 years before.[22] He opened an art studio in New Hampshire where he created physical artwork on canvas.[23] Johnson also ventured into the new and fast-growing medium of NFTs. He sold multiple pieces in early 2020, selling one NFT in April for six Ethereum or approximately $940. His works frequently depicted black children in an inspirational or encouraging light.

In partnership with a blockchain-based art platform, Johnson unveiled a new piece called 'sä-v(ə-)rən-tē: on October 28, 2020.[24][25] The inspiration stems from overhearing his then 4-year-old nephew ask his mother, "Can astronauts be Black?"[26] Johnson's stated mission was to take two black youths who faced adversity and give them "sovereignty" or in other words empower them. The scene features two boys on one side of a door with an astronaut on the other. Every year on the boys’ birthdays, a QR code will pop up over the original artwork asking for Bitcoin donation. The door that is standing between them will open more each year, for eleven years, until they are face to face. This will happen on the boys 18th birthday. The boys becoming face-to-face with the astronaut is meant to symbolize them becoming adults and finally able to pursue their dreams while having options, due to the donations of the viewers.[27]

'sä-v(ə-)rən-tē: was made available to purchase on October 29, 2020. After a period of bidding, it was sold for $117,278.[28] At the time it was the second highest sale price for an NFT art piece, right behind Block 21 which sold at Christie's for $130K.[29]

Personal life

During the 2014 season, Johnson took online classes through Indiana University to finish his degree. Along with his baseball career, he is also an artist and posts many of his works on his Instagram page. He intends to go to law school after his playing career, with the goal of becoming an MLB general manager.[7]

References
  1. "Park Tudor, IU's Micah Johnson moving quickly through White Sox organization". Indianapolis Star. July 22, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. "#3 Micah Johnson". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  3. Van Schouwen, Daryl (March 2, 2014). "White Sox hot prospect Micah Johnson won't get ahead of himself". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  4. "Speedster Micah Johnson taking it slow on defense". Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  5. "Micah Johnson impressive in first MLB camp before returning to play for Birmingham Barons". Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  6. Cahill, Teddy (May 15, 2014). "Pipeline preview: Johnson raring to go for Charlotte". MLB.com. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  7. "White Sox prospect Micah Johnson has high potential on and off the field". Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  8. Kane, Colleen (April 5, 2015). "White Sox name Micah Johnson starter at second base". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  9. Simon, Andrew (December 16, 2015). "White Sox acquire Frazier in 3-team deal". mlb.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  10. "OKC Dodgers Release 2016 Opening Day Roster". news9.com. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  11. "Micah Johnson Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  12. "Micah Johnson Register Statistics & History". Baseball Reference.
  13. Plunkett, Bill (January 10, 2017). "Dodgers make Kenley Jansen signing official, designate Micah Johnson for assignment". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2017 – via Los Angeles Daily News. Alt URL
  14. Bowman, Mark (January 13, 2017). "Braves acquire versatile Johnson from Dodgers". MLB.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  15. Bowman, Mark (March 16, 2017). "Johnson breaks wrist; Braves' OF depth takes hit". MLB.com. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  16. Harris, Ben (July 28, 2017). "Johnson grateful for chance after callup". MLB.com. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  17. John Boyle (October 26, 2017). "Reds claim utilityman from Braves". www.daytondailynews.com. COX Media Group. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  18. Zarnack, W.; Möhl, B. (1977). "A data acquisition processor with data reduction for electrophysiological experiments". Fortschritte der Zoologie. 24 (2–3): 321–326. ISSN 0071-7991. PMID 608672.
  19. Todd, Jeff (October 30, 2017). "Giants Claim Micah Johnson, Designate Tim Federowicz". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  20. Adams, Steve (November 27, 2017). "Rays Claim Micah Johnson From Giants". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  21. Adams, Steve (February 13, 2018). "Rays Outright Micah Johnson". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  22. Hoornstra, JP (December 17, 2020). "Hoornstra: Former Dodger Micah Johnson makes his biggest mark on L.A." Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  23. Falkenheim, Dan. "To the Moon: Micah Johnson Launches Crypto Dreams". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  24. "From Adversity to 'sä-v(ə-)rən-tē: The Real Story of Jacque and Rayden". Cent. October 28, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  25. "This baseball player turned artist has NFT art sales valued at more than $19 million. Here's how he did it". Fortune. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  26. Scott, Chad (November 29, 2020). "Former professional baseball player Micah Johnson making art, and a difference". Art Angels. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  27. "Baseball to Blockchain; Former Athlete Empowers Through Art". Innovation & Tech Today. November 3, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  28. "Micah Johnson's time-sensitive photograph that follows and impacts real-life subjects, sells for over $120K on Async Art". PR Newswire. November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  29. Alois, JD (October 12, 2020). "NFTs: 'Block 21' Sells for Over $130K at Christie's". Crowdfund Insider. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
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