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Elliot Johnson Set The Tone For '08 Rays

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Tampa Bay Rays' Elliot Johnson, 43, plows into New York Yankees cathcer Francisco Cervelli, 85, during their spring training baseball game at Legends Field in Tampa, Fla., Saturday, March 8, 2008.

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 30, 2008

Forget the Alamo.

Remember Elliot Johnson.

We know there's a body of water in Minnesota named Lake Itasca and that it's the source of the mighty Mississippi. But where, oh, where did this amazing Rays season begin?

There are dozens of moments during this regular season that stand out.

But when did Joe Maddon and the Mohawks book their first date?

"The thing with Elliot Johnson in spring training was big," Rays first baseman Carlos Pena said.

The thing with Elliot Johnson?

In spring training?

"It was important," Rays manager Maddon said.

Here's Elliot Johnson, on the phone from Durham, N.C.

"We were already headed the right way, but maybe it was a little part of it."

A Jarring Collision

March 8, 2008, and what followed might have been the moment the Rays first rose from the ooze to inform the world that the world had turned.

That was when infielder Elliot Johnson, one day shy of his 24th birthday and trying to make his first big-league team, rammed Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli while trying to score in the ninth inning during an exhibition game at Legends Field. Cervelli broke his wrist. The Yankees cried foul, especially Manager Joe Girardi.

While the Rays didn't like anyone to get hurt, they got behind Johnson.

"Their argument was that it was spring training," Johnson said. "This was baseball the way we were going to play it."

"It was an early sign of our mentality," Pena said.

So was what happened four days later at Al Lang Field. The Yankees retaliated. The ridge-browed Shelley Duncan went into second spikes high, slicing Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura. The fight was on. Among the first responders was Rays outfielder Jonny Gomes, who arrived as if fired from a howitzer. Every other Ray showed up, too.

"We didn't back down," Maddon said. "It was an important moment for this team coming together."

"If I slide, does it really work out that way?" Johnson said. "I don't know. God only knows."

He only knows he did what he had to do.

So did the Rays, all season.

"We said we weren't going to take it anymore," Pena said.

Whatever happened to Joe Girardi and the Yankees, anyway?

Followed The Team's Progress

Elliot Johnson made the Rays out of training camp. It ended April 27. He was sent to Triple-A Durham, where he batted .261 with nine homers and 50 RBIs. He hoped that would be enough to make him a September call-up for the Rays. It wasn't.

"I wanted to be part of it," Johnson said. "I wish I could have been there for all of this stuff. It didn't work out that way. I didn't really force them. I didn't play outstanding or anything like that."

He has followed the amazing season, mostly on the Internet. Johnson and his wife are building a home in Durham.

"He's still a part of this," Pena said.

Elliot Johnson, who first set the tone, never stopped trying to set it in the minors. There was this game in Richmond late in the Triple-A season. Late in the game, Johnson rammed the Richmond catcher and scored what would have been the go-ahead run.

"I did originally," he said. "But I got called out for missing third."

He thinks the Rays can go all the way.

He'll be back next spring.

"I want to make that team," Johnson said.

In his own way, he helped make this one what it is.

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