Tuesday, December 14, 1999
Ex-Rainbow Johnson
grabbed by Tigers
The former Hawaii pitcher
By Al Chase
will be with his fourth
team in four years
Star-BulletinMark Johnson is headed to his fourth major league team in his fourth professional season.
Johnson was selected by the Detroit Tigers from the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers, the New York Yankees' Triple-A team, in yesterday's Rule 5 draft.
He was the sixth of 17 players taken in the major league portion of the draft.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound former Hawaii Rainbow right-hander missed almost two months of action last summer after being hit by a line drive in the face. But, when he came back, Johnson posted his best numbers in three minor league seasons.
He was 9-3 with a 3.68 earned run average for Norwich in the Class A Eastern League.
Johnson began his career with the Houston Astros in 1997, was traded to the Florida Marlins in 1998 and to the Yankees in 1999.
His four-year minor league totals are 23 wins, 29 defeats, a 3.87 ERA with 315 strikeouts and 144 walks in 402 innings.
Players selected in the Rule 5 draft cost $50,000. They must remain on the active roster of the team drafting them for the entire next season or be offered back to the former team for $25,000.
Johnson was unavailable for comment.
