Christ, family, baseball: Why Wes Johnson left the twins for LSU

CLEVELAND – Carlos Correa settled on the twins’ one-hour trip to Cleveland and geared up for five games in four days as AL Central advanced. He connected his phone to Wi-Fi and opened Twitter, normally.

He read the first tweet on his timeline twice. Then check if the account he tweeted on has been verified. Then he asked his fellow seatmate Jiu Urchila to read it as well.

Both were in disbelief, so Correa returned to the personnel department, specifically to coach Wes Johnson.

“That’s when he told me he had a great opportunity for himself and his family at LSU,” Correa said.

Johnson was moving to #1 mid-season and moving to Baton Rouge, Los Angeles Become a tiger throwing coach. LSU courted Johnson last season, too. But that accelerated last week, and the daring pitch became a show on Thursday. by Johnson Sunday. Johnson didn’t have a chance between Sunday’s game and the flight to properly inform the team before the news leaked.

Correa said Twins manager Rocco Baldeley initially told him to keep what he learned about Johnson to the bottom.

By the time I got back to my seat, the guys were like, ‘What were you talking about with Rocco? And I’m like, ‘I don’t know. Are you talking about Wes? What do you guys know?” Correa recounted, “He is leaving.” “I think everyone knew by the time we landed.”

The twins held impromptu meetings at the hotel, with Baldeley, Johnson and head of baseball operations Derek Falvey confirming the reports.

The players were shocked. If coaches leave mid-season, it’s usually because the team loses matches and the employees lose their jobs. Johnson was leaving a good team to take up the same position at a lower level, albeit at a school in the SEC Energy Center.

Johnson made history when he was Join the Twins crew right after the 2018 season from the University of Arkansas. He’s an integral part of the coaching staff, and helps Baldele – a defensive player in his playing days – make decisions about everything on the field.

Johnson was a hit, with the twins winning division titles in 2019 and 20. The 2021 season saw a sharp downturn, with 4.83 employees. But as the completely rebuilt rotation began in 2022, Johnson lowered that mass era to 3.78.

Why Johnson chose to leave such a gentle attitude came down to three core values.

“I tell people my priorities,” Johnson said. “It’s my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, one. It’s my family, two. And it’s baseball, three.” “I’ll never get those out of whack.”

The MLB lifestyle can strain the work-life balance. He is 50 years old and his wife, Angie, has three children: Ryan, Anna and Ava. The latter two are still at Johnson’s middle and high school in Johnson’s native Arkansas. And with a 162-game season, plus two months of training in the spring, Johnson lost family moments.

The college season is less urgent, although year-round hiring seems to be a big factor in his quick departure. Lafayette Daily Advertiser reports that Johnson’s LSU contract has an annual base salary of $380,000 for three years, plus a vehicle allowance of $800 per month and a $25,000 transfer incentive.

Johnson said this was the “hardest thing” he had ever done. It also put the twins in a difficult position, as they have to replace a key employee by Friday once Johnson officially leaves after the streak.

“We want to respect everyone in the room, to talk to different people, different employees. This creates some charisma,” Valvey said. “Our plan here is to work with the inner group that we have to get into the role of Wes.”

Possible candidates are assistant shooting coach Luis Ramirez, Bullpen coach Pete Mackie and prevention coordinator Colby Suggs, although the team have confirmed it will be a team effort to finish the season.

Many shooters were pleased with Johnson’s new opportunity, but sadly lost his direction. Superstar Chris Archer, who has been in the league since 2012 and has sustained serious injuries in recent years, said Johnson has a way of getting bowlers to believe in themselves again, which will continue even after his departure.

“It really helped re-instill confidence in me every single day,” Archer said. “…He’s the best coach I’ve ever seen, top to bottom. The analytics, the biomechanics, the confidence instillation, the game plan. Every aspect you can think of, it was the best.”