Notes of spring: More on Thompson, Johnson
By joshjacksonmilb
By Josh Jackson / MiLB.com
Thompson keeps Chicago connection
GLENDALE, Arizona — Before he was traded to the Dodgers in December, Trayce Thompson spent seven years in the White Sox system — from the time he was 18. It’s no surprise, then, that as excited as he is to play for L.A., he was a little sad to part ways with some of the people in the Chicago organization.
Luckily for him, the Dodgers and White Sox share a Spring Training facility at Camelback Ranch. For the rest of camp, he and Micah Johnson, who came to the Dodgers in the same trade, are roommates with Chicago’s shortstop.
“Tyler Saladino, we lived together last year in Triple-A,” Thompson said. “We played every level, A ball, Double-A, Triple-A together, so he’s one of my closest friends that I’ve made through baseball.”
There are coaches, too, to whom Thompson has enjoyed staying connected.
“The [White Sox] first base coach, Daryl Boston, he was my outfield rover when I was in the Minor Leagues for four or five years. He’s like family to me,” he said. “Gary Ward is a hitting coach with the organization. He’s like family to me, too.”
Johnson confident in game plan
GLENDALE, Arizona — When the White Sox assigned Micah Johnson to Triple-A Charlotte last May, part of the reasoning reportedly was because they wanted to see him make smarter baserunning decisions.
In big league camp with the Dodgers, the speedy second baseman said he had no regrets about how aggressive he was on the basepaths.
“I’ve always prided myself on my baserunning abilities. If they said my baserunning, I made mistakes, that’s fine. It was my first two months in the big leagues,” he said.
“I’m trying to figure out the game, the game speed and what you’re able to do and what you’re not able to do. I’d like to push your limits. It’s easier to push the limits and have somebody tell me to come back than it is to have them say, ‘Oh, you’ve got to do this, you’ve gotta do this.’ Then I have a set knowledge of, ‘OK, this is not possible at this level.’ I’ll take that. I just know I’m going to keep pushing the limits. Just be aggressive — that’s my game. If I get on base with a single, it doesn’t do me much good if I just stay there. You’ve got to push your limits.”
Johnson, whose lowest on-base percentage in four Minor League seasons was .351, also is aggressive in the batter’s box.
“I don’t go up there really to walk, especially in spring,” he said. “I go up there and try to hit the ball, and when you hit the ball, you know what you need to work on. If I’m late or foul a pitch off the first pitch of the at-bat, OK, my timing’s a little off. That’s it. I’m all timing. There’s not much mechanics. I don’t think anything about mechanics, I just get my foot down and then the rest takes care of itself as long as you’re prepared to hit.”
He’s excited to bring that aggressiveness to the Dodgers.
“[After the trade], I just told them I want to win,” Johnson said. “I know how to help the team win ballgames.
“I play the game the right way. I play hard, play to win. The numbers take care of themselves. If a runner’s on second base, nobody out and I bunt — can I get a hit out of it? Runner on third with less than two outs, my job is to bring him in somehow, some way. Even first and third with less than two outs, if I put the ball in play, it’s going to be hard for them to get a double play. When I put the ball in play, I know my game and I focus on winning the game and the numbers take care of themselves.”
