NEW YORK (AP) -Davey Johnson has many fond memories of Yankee Stadium, and one in particular he’d like to forget.
Johnson was managing the Baltimore Orioles when 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier deflected Derek Jeter’s fly ball over the wall during the 1996 AL championship series. The disputed home run helped Tino Martinez and the Yankees advance to their first of four World Series titles in five years.
“I remember that long run I made out there when Jeffrey Maier reached over and the umpire couldn’t see it but I could see it from my dugout,” Johnson said Saturday. “I consequently got thrown out and then we also lost the game, so that wasn’t one of my better memories.”
Johnson and Martinez will meet again in a different situation Sunday, when Johnson manages the U.S. team and Martinez leads the World squad in the 10th annual Futures Game.
The showcase for some of baseball’s top young talent is part of the festivities leading up to Tuesday night’s All-Star game highlighting the final season at Yankee Stadium. It also comes in an Olympic year, and Johnson said about half his team will be making the trip with him to Beijing for the Summer Games.
Linked by one of the most memorable moments in the stadium’s history and each with strong New York ties outside of that famous Game 1, Johnson and Martinez should give the Futures Game a decidedly Gotham feel.
“It’s a great honor to be involved,” Martinez said. “They could’ve chosen anybody to do that. Any time they call me to do something here I’m more than willing to do it.”
Martinez hit .271 with 339 home runs and 1,271 RBIs during 16 seasons in the majors, and now works as a special assistant to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. Martinez has visited some of New York’s minor league stops but admittedly doesn’t know much about the roster he’ll be managing Sunday.
“We’re going to tell the players for the first six, seven innings, just play your game,” Martinez said. “I’m not going to ask anybody to lay down a bunt in the third or fourth inning. It’s their time to shine on TV and show the world what they can do.
“They’re going to do whatever they want for about six, seven innings, and then if it’s a tight game and we need a run late, then we’ll maybe drop a bunt down or do something to try to win the game.”
Johnson said he already has a good idea about his roster for the Olympics, but the Futures Game is a chance to get a better grip on some of the prospects’ abilities.
“Any time you get a chance to see players play (and) perform you have a better idea on who’s going to be the strongest player at that position,” he said.
Johnson, an All-Star second baseman during 13 seasons as a big leaguer, made his biggest mark in New York in 1986 when he managed the Mets to 108 victories in the regular season, then beat Boston in Game 7 of the World Series to win the championship.
Johnson, who managed 14 years in the majors with the Mets, Cincinnati, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers, has coached and managed for USA Baseball since 2005. His name comes up in connection with a big league opening every winter, but Johnson doesn’t sound as though he’s actively seeking a return to the majors.
“I was fired four times. Am I trying to get fired five times?” Johnson said. “No. No, I’m not.”
Johnson’s starting lineup for the Futures Game includes left-hander Clayton Richard, one of the top prospects in the Chicago White Sox system, and slugger Matt LaPorta, the big bat Cleveland acquired from Milwaukee in the CC Sabathia deal.
Martinez will give the ball to right-hander Carlos Carrasco, a Double-A Philadelphia Phillies prospect who could become a front-line starter in the majors. For the former Yankees first baseman, the game is another chance to learn more about coaching.
“Yeah, it’s something I definitely would like to do in the future,” said Martinez, a volunteer assistant coach at South Florida since 2006. “Right now I’m enjoying being home, with my kids so young. Maybe in a couple years I’d like to somehow get back in it.”
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