Goldeyes’ lefty sensation letting good times roll

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This article was published 04/06/2019 (2346 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ryan Johnson said his life hasn’t changed much since last week when he became the first Winnipegger to play for the Winnipeg Goldeyes since 2006.

The 26-year-old lefty, who’s coming off his senior season at Lubbock Christian University in Texas, impressed in his first professional start, tossing six scoreless innings to lead his hometown team to a 3-1 win over the Gary SouthShore RailCats on May 29. But the feel-good story didn’t end there, as Johnson followed that performance up on Monday with another solid six-inning outing where he only gave up one run on five hits in the Goldeyes’ 7-6 win over the Sioux City Explorers.

“Our house is still the same,” Johnson said after the Goldeyes defeated Sioux City 5-4 on Tuesday afternoon at Shaw Park.

“Nothing’s really changed in the household. We’re still going to bed at the same time. Nothing crazy is happening. I will say, when I think back on it, I go, ‘Wow. I’m playing professional ball right now. I’m getting paid to play baseball. That’s amazing.’ It’s an amazing feeling, I know that much. It’s fun.”

Johnson’s household may remain the same, but once he walks out the front door, things must be different. The Goldeyes have been flooded with media requests since Johnson signed (Donnie Smith was the last Winnipeg native on the team), and the 6-5, 216-pound graduate of Sturgeon Heights Collegiate has also been given a new nickname by his teammates.

“I’ve been called ‘the Mayor’ a couple times, just jokingly from a couple of the guys, and it puts a huge smile on my face,” Johnson said. “It’s just funny.”

But how has Johnson, a rookie, been able to block out all the noise and distractions of playing professionally at home and put up such impressive numbers?

“I’m not letting the moment get too big. That’s been the biggest thing,” Johnson said. “We had runners at first and second (on Monday), the guy hit a double into the gap and scored one in the second inning. I sat there and was like, ‘OK, well, onto the next one.’ The game doesn’t change at a higher level. It gets a bit faster, guys are hitting balls a bit farther, but the game doesn’t change. The plate is still 60 feet, six inches away. It’s still the same diameter. Just got to go out there and throw strikes and I’ve been fortunate enough where I’ve been getting good pitches in OK counts and getting a great result out of it.”

The Goldeyes would like to keep sending Johnson out there once a week and see him continue to throw strikes, but there is concern about how much the team will be able to use the rookie moving forward. Johnson’s arm has already been through a lot this year, as he pitched more than a hundred innings during the college season that ended May 17. But Johnson is hopeful manager Rick Forney won’t have to skip any of his starts and he will be able to hold up for the remainder of the season.

“We’ll see, about 90 games later, what happens. But right now, I’m feeling good,” said Johnson, who impressed in his senior season in Lubbock with a 13-2 record and a 2.54 ERA.

“I’ve been able to stick with a pretty good routine as of late and it’s worked out pretty good so far.”

For now, the good times are rolling for Johnson. He’s got a perfect 2-0 record and a sparkling 0.71 ERA after his first 12 and two-third innings as a professional. Outside of helping the Goldeyes rack up the wins, Johnson said it would mean a lot to motivate young Winnipeggers to give baseball a try.

“I mean, being able to sign autographs for all the kids and maybe have a bit more of an influence here and there, just maybe it’s gonna change someone to wanting to play ball at a younger age and they can say, ‘Hey, if he can do it, so can I.’”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @TaylorAllen31