Blue Jays Give Manager His Discharge

The lies Tim Johnson told about his Marine service in Vietnam cost him the trust of his team and his job.

Johnson was fired Wednesday as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and replaced by former Angel manager Jim Fregosi in a rare spring training dismissal.

“The unsettledness and the distractions had become the issue,” General Manager Gord Ash said. “It had become apparent it wasn’t going to work.”

Johnson never saw combat, but supposedly made up stories--including one about shooting a young girl--to inspire the club. He taught mortar training to recruits going to Vietnam, yet never served there.

The truth was revealed last year, causing conflicts with several players and pitching coach Mel Queen. Johnson apologized to the club at camp last month, trying to put behind him a winter full of turmoil.

But with the Blue Jays at 3-12, and only a few days after former Toronto third baseman Ed Sprague called Johnson a “liar” and a “back stabber,” Ash had seen enough.

“It wasn’t going to fade into the background as quickly as I hoped,” Ash said. “It had become a preoccupation and was making it hard to focus.”

Firing a manager in spring training is not unprecedented. Phil Cavaretta was fired by the Chicago Cubs in 1954 with a 5-15 exhibition record.

“They were looking for leadership,” said Fregosi, 56, who had an 861-937 record while managing Philadelphia, the Chicago White Sox and Angels. “We’ve got 18 games. We’ll be ready by opening day.”

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San Diego catcher Carlos Hernandez is expected to be out for the season after rupturing his left Achilles’ tendon Wednesday in the Padres’ 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox. . . . Sammy Sosa hit two more home runs, giving him seven for the spring, but his bows to the fans made Arizona pitcher Todd Stottlemyre unhappy. “Nobody wants to be embarrassed,” Stottlemyre said. Sosa, who picked up the habit during a tour of Japan in November, said: “They’re going to have a lot of opportunities to see me showing the bows, showing respect for fans.” . . . Carlos Baerga, the former all-star who had been trying to win the second base job with the St. Louis Cardinals, was waived. . . . The Boston Red Sox released first baseman/designated hitter Bob Hamelin, the 1994 AL rookie of the year. . . . Orel Hershiser, 40, made another strong bid to stay in the majors, pitching four scoreless innings for Cleveland’s split squad against Tampa Bay. . . . Texas catcher John Marzano, signed in January to back up Ivan Rodriguez, is out four to six weeks after his left hand was broken by a pitch from Boston’s Brad Clontz.