Coach Johnson Bags 300th Win
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 There are many obscure baseball records out there that fans love to use as fodder while bantering and boasting about their baseball brilliance. A recent example of such a record was discovered only after Luis Castillo's major league-record errorless streak for second basemen ended at 143 consecutive games.
The most recent missed record may be the 305 wins posted by Steve Johnson, the venerable coach of the Blake Bears. Johnson's 300th win was 2-1 over Saint Agnes on May 14th. The always-humble head coach comments, "For me, it was a nice milestone. It certainly places me among some very distinguished coaching company, but in the end I am more concerned about what Blake Baseball is about, than what it has done in the W/L column."
Johnson is correct about the company his record puts him in. According to the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Web Site Steve's 305 wins places him firmly in the top 40 for most wins ever in the state of Minnesota. That is more W's than legendary coaches Dick Mingo (Bloomington Jefferson), Bruce Woitas (Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's), Denny Lofbloom (White Bear Lake), Neal Jeppson (Burnsville) and John Wilkens (Saint Michael-Albertville).
Steve Johnson has coached the Bears for 27 years and plans to return to the diamond for one last season in 2008 and during his career he has always been an achiever. Johnson was honored by The Blake School with the Pete Parks Award Coach of the Year Award; he was selected to coach in the MSHSBCA All-Star game and has been an instructor for Minnesota Twins Youth Camps.
As Johnson looked back trying to find his personal accomplishments in coaching it quickly became evident that for all these years his focus has been on his players and not perusing personal goals. Johnson reflects, "I have always tried to make each player's experience as positive as possible. I have tried to not only develop baseball skills, but life skills as well. My concern has always been for them to achieve a maximum degree of personal success within the concept of striving for something as a cohesive group."
Steve has always required that regardless of the quality of play, Blake teams and individuals display an honor and respect for themselves, each other and the game.
"Each year we all step out there, each with our own reasons, to create a moment in time in all of our lives. We deal with the joys, the frustrations and all the things beyond our control; and we do it together. In the end we are not the same as we started, we have become something more, we have become a part of each other. If all I have done is win, lose and teach a few physical skills, then it has been a waste of time. But I don't think that happened," Johnson remarks.
Steve Johnson is hired as a history teacher and administrator at Blake but most that have played for him and even those who have coached with him would label him a philosopher.
"I coached with Steve for 16 years," remembers retired assistant baseball coach Rick Johns, "and one of his favorite pastimes on bus trips or in those few quiet, secluded moments in the dugouts was to speak of the symbolic nature of baseball."
"Steve loves to say that the game is a metaphor for life, a vehicle for helping young men figure out what it means to cope with life's bounces, catch what it has to offer, and even throw a little back. Steve has always felt that baseball, like no other game, helps young men build character, confidence, discipline and thought, thus helping them to become better men," continues Johns.
An introspective Johnson confesses that, "Coaching several hundred young men of unique character has taught me more than I ever taught them. The experiences we shared have enriched my life beyond measure. There have been many memorable players, games and moments. Remembering them makes me laugh, cry and shake my head in amazement. And getting together with old players and telling stories is something I never tire of. But my favorite experience was sharing the years with Major Bowen and the young men who surrounded him. The spirit of Major and the players who made up those teams was a profound experience. I am proud of all of them for who they were. That experience will always have a special place in my heart."
"When I step down at the close of next season, I will certainly miss the competitive fire, the great plays, the arguments with umpires, and discussing the nuances of the game. But more than that I will miss the batting practice camaraderie that is intrinsic to the game; it's the glue that binds the players. And it's these bonds that make all the difference in life. I will miss watching kids stretch beyond the "me" to become the "we" that is so inherent to the game. Like life it has its own clock, it is what it is, and we all have to deal with that. It just helps when you can share both the wins, and the losses. There will always be something about the way the ball feels in my hand, and a simple game of catch," concludes Steve.
Steve Johnson has never been the game for the Ws, he has always been in the game for the kids and the proof of this was the smile on Johnson's face when a non-starting senior player, at the very end of his final season, came up to Steve, shook his hand and said, "Steve, I want to thank you for the past two years, even though I did not play as much as I would have liked to, I learned something about myself and I had fun every day."
Watch Coach Johnson signal plays to his team. You need the QuickTime Player to view this movie. Get your copy here.
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