Homer History: Brian Johnson’s unlikely blast in a pennant race

In our Homer History series, writers re-tell the stories of memorable home runs from their perspective. In this installment, Yahoo Sports college basketball writer Jeff Eisenberg discusses Brian Johnson’s unlikely home run that came during the Giants pennant race.

When the San Francisco Giants traded for catcher Brian Johnson on July 15, 1997, the move didn’t exactly set the Bay Area abuzz.

A story about the deal in the next day’s San Francisco Chronicle was a whopping 83 words long and didn’t even include Johnson’s name in the headline.

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(Brian Johnson's blast tied the NL West)

The Giants acquired Johnson from Detroit as low-priced insurance in case starting catcher Rick Wilkins continued to struggle at the plate and 33-year-old backup Damon Berryhill proved too rickety to play more than once or twice a week. Since the Tigers had just demoted Johnson to Triple-A Toledo the previous week, all the Giants had to send in return for him was Marcus Jensen, a 24-year-old third-string catcher batting .149.

“Expectations probably weren’t that high for me, but I was excited about the trade,” Johnson told Yahoo Sports this week. “I felt at home in San Francisco because I was from the area and I felt at home in the National League because I had spent five previous seasons with the San Diego Padres. I knew the pitchers. I knew the parks. I knew the speed of the game.”

A trade that inspired little attention when it was made took on far greater significance later that season after Johnson not only won the starting catcher job but also blasted one of the most iconic home runs in franchise history. His 12th-inning shot off reliever Mark Guthrie on Sept. 18, 1997 not only defeated the hated Los Angeles Dodgers but also catapulted the Giants toward an unexpected division title.

The Giants entered the second game of a two-game series with the Dodgers needing to complete a sweep to pull even with their National League West rivals with nine games to go. Johnson’s season-altering home run served as a turning point as the Giants won six of their next eight games to clinch their first division title in eight years on the second-to-last day of the season.

“Anytime I’m in the Bay Area, I get reminded of that home run at least once a day,” said Johnson, now a scout for the Giants. “It’s amazing really. It was a split-second of actual time, but it has stayed in people’s memories all these years.”

Johnson’s home run resonated with Giants fans because it was the apex of an improbable worst-to-first turnaround that restored the Bay Area’s passion for baseball.

Less than three years removed from labor strike that abruptly halted Matt Williams’ pursuit of Roger Maris’ single-season home run record, Giants fans had been slow to return to the sport. Attendance at Candlestick Park was the third worst in the National League in 1995 and the second worst in 1996 as the Giants staggered to back-to-back last-place finishes.

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There was little reason to expect better from the 1997 Giants despite the roster overhaul new general manager Brian Sabean engineered.

Sabean’s first splashy move was jettisoning the popular Williams to Cleveland in exchange for infielders Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino and reliever Julian Tavarez, a trade that eventually proved shrewd but initially had fans ready to boil the new general manager in oil. Anger over that deal was so pervasive that it overshadowed subsequent acquisitions of J.T. Snow and Darryl Hamilton, additions that ended the Giants’ three-year quest to replace first baseman Will Clark and also gave them an elite centerfielder and productive leadoff hitter.

The abrupt makeover helped the Giants ascend into playoff contention that summer. Behind the slugging of Kent, Snow and Barry Bonds and breakout seasons from young starters Shawn Estes and Kirk Rueter, the Giants were alone in first place at 53-40 by the time Johnson arrived via trade.

“My first game was in Houston at the Astrodome, and I remember looking around the locker room thinking, ‘This is a pretty good team we have here,'” Johnson said. “There were some underappreciated guys and some guys that needed a second chance, but it was the kind of club where everyone was talented and everyone was hungry.”

While the Dodgers eventually overtook the Giants in August, the gap between the two rivals never exceeded 2.5 games during the final two months of the season. The Dodgers were the favorite thanks to a formidable rotation and fearsome Mike Piazza-led middle of the order, but the Giants stayed competitive by amassing a 23-17 record in one-run games and an 11-3 mark in games that went to extra innings.

When the Dodgers arrived at Candlestick with a two-game lead on Sept. 17, the Giants viewed the two-game series as must-sweep. Bonds crushed a two-run first-inning homer off Chan Ho Park in the opener and Rueter threw seven innings of four-hit ball, paving the way for an all-important second game.

The Giants appeared to be in deep trouble in game two when closer Rod Beck loaded the bases with nobody out to start the top of the tenth inning. Manager Dusty Baker had already used top set-up man Roberto Hernandez earlier in the game, so he had little choice but to leave Beck in to sink or swim.

“Dusty came out and said, ‘Rod, this is your game,'” Johnson said. “Me being the catcher, I had to figure out what we were going to do. I had to paint the picture for my pitcher so he had short-term goals to get through this inning.”

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Johnson knew upcoming hitter Todd Zeile was a first-pitch fastball hitter, so he had Beck start throw a slider and a splitter before freezing the Dodgers third baseman with a fastball over the inside corner for strike three. Beck then got slow-footed pinch hitter Eddie Murray to bounce into a double play to end the inning, an escape act that had 52,000 fans at Candlestick roaring and the Dodgers shaking their heads in disbelief.

By the time the game reached the bottom of the 12th inning, the Dodgers had already used six pitchers. Dodgers manager Bill Russell had to give the ball to the struggling Guthrie, who had surrendered 11 runs in his previous 13 2/3 innings.

Guthrie’s first pitch of the inning was a fat belt-high fastball that Johnson smoked over the left-field fence. Candlestick’s trademark swirling wind had knocked down other potential home runs that afternoon, but Johnson’s line drive cut through it and landed in the first row of the bleachers.

What Johnson remembers most about the home run is the silence. Once he rounded first, he insists he never heard his teammates screaming, the Candlestick foghorn blasting or the delirious crowd going nuts.

“The crowd was in a euphoric state, but I swear on a stack of bibles it was pitch silent in my head,” Johnson said. “I heard the pitter patter of my feet on the dirt. It was like someone turned a switch to turn the noise off in my head.”

The 1997 Giants did not go on to achieve October glory after winning the division. They were swept out of the playoffs in the opening round by the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins.

But while it would take another 13 years for the Giants to win their first World Series in San Francisco, Johnson and the other members of the 1997 team can take satisfaction knowing they helped pave the way for the franchise’s run of three championships in five years. The 1997 team reignited enthusiasm for baseball in the Bay Area, restored faith in Sabean’s leadership and started a successful transition to a new ballpark that opened three years later.

Johnson, an Oakland native who went on to be a two-sport star at Stanford, is keenly aware of his home run’s place in Giants history.

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“I think that season was the precursor to the 2002 heartbreak and all the World Series teams that have followed,” Johnson said. “We laid the foundation for the next great teams to come.”

COMING THURSDAY: Wily Mo Pena gets a hold of one with the Nationals.

PREVIOUSLY IN HOMER HISTORY
– The night a hobbled Kirk Gibson broke my heart (by Mike Oz)
– Cal Ripken Jr. wowed us yet again on Iron Man night (by Lauren Shehadi)
– When Albert Pujols silenced Minute Maid Park (by Jeff Passan)
– Bill Mazeroski’s great walk-off World Series winner (by Kevin Iole)
– The Big Papi grand slam that still haunts Detroit (by Al Toby)
– That time Joe Blanton hit a home run in the World Series (by Sam Cooper)
– When Jim Leyritz halted hopes of a Braves dynasty (by Jay Busbee)
– Bryce Harper and the home run almost no one saw (by Chris Cwik)
– Shane Robinson and the home run on one predicted (by Tim Brown)
– The shot heard ’round the world (by Larry King)
– The night Reggie Jackson became Mr. October (by Scott Pianowski)
– Tony Fernandez’s extra-innings postseason blast (by Joey Gulino)
– Dave Kingman takes one out of Wrigley Field (by Andy Behrens)
– Joe Carter’s blast wins the 1993 World Series (by Greg Wyshynski)
– Todd Helton ignites a historic Rockies run (by Mark Townsend)
– David Eckstein once again does the improbable (by Max Thompson)
– Bob Brenly makes up for four errors with a blast (by Rob Schneider)
– Alex Gordon ties Game 1 of the 2015 World Series (by Nick Bromberg)
– Ryne Sandberg takes Bruce Sutter deep twice (by Kyle Ringo)
– Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth with No. 715 (by Steve McAllister)
– When Frank Thomas showed his Home Run Derby muscle (by Andreas Hale)
– Steve Finley’s grand slam that did not suck (by Marcus Vanderberg)