FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Asked to perform the seemingly mundane task of putting on his home white Red Sox uniform for the annual Spring Training photo day on Sunday morning, first-base coach Ron Johnson had enough enthusiasm to fill the entire facility.
Really, how much fun was that for the man who will wear No. 50 for the Red Sox in 2010?
"Jacked," said Johnson. "Just jacked. I couldn't wait to get it on. It's the simple little things."
Yes, the simple little things for Johnson that officially and symbolically emphasize the fact that his past 18 years -- in which he managed in the Minor Leagues -- have been replaced by a full-time job in the Major Leagues for one of the premier teams in baseball.
Johnson is a big man with a booming voice and infectious enthusiasm, and his new job gets a little sweeter for him each day.
"It's been fantastic," said Johnson, who aside from coaching first, will also be in charge of outfield defense. "I think I get a little prouder every day I come out here to be part of this. It is kind of a realization sinking in. I know I'm on the staff. I know I have a job this year with the Major League staff. Still, when I think about it, I have to take a second to digest it after being in the Minor Leagues for so long.
"I couldn't be more excited, and at the same time, I'm very proud of what I'm doing right now. It's good to be here."
In a way, it feels like the 53-year-old Johnson has been "here" all along. Johnson has been in the Red Sox's organization since 2000, managing Triple-A Pawtucket for the past five years. One of the perks of that job was helping out as a coach in Major League camp and getting a September callup once the Triple-A season was over.
Because of Johnson's personality, it never took him long to fit in with manager Terry Francona and his staff.
"I remember when he got hired, he made mention of the fact that he felt like he was the sixth coach, or the extra coach, however you say it," said Francona. "You give him a responsibility and he goes and does it. But now when we get on the flight [to start the season], he'll break camp with us. I know today when we were taking pictures, he put on his uniform top, and he was very proud, which is good. But he's always been a part of what we're doing, especially down here. So it's not really that different."
The way Johnson looks at it, the only thing that is different is, well, everything.
"It is completely different. It is totally different," Johnson said. "This time that I've spent here is totally different than the last five years I've spent in the camp and also in Septembers. It's nothing different the staff does, because these guys have always made me feel comfortable. In fact, that was one of the things we talked about in the interview. I've always felt like I was part of this staff anyway.
"Tito has always made me feel like I was the sixth man or whatever. But it's different this year, because I come in and I know that I am part of this coaching staff. I'm very excited and very proud and having a ball every day. I can't wait until the games start."
They will start soon enough, and Johnson is familiar with the cast. In the Minors, he managed Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Delcarmen and Daniel Bard, which represents more than one-third of Boston's projected Opening Day roster.
"He's awesome," Pedroia said of Johnson. "He's helped a lot of us out to get to the big leagues. We're all pumped for him to be here. He's a fun guy to be around."
The vacancy that Johnson filled came about when bench coach Brad Mills left Boston to manage the Astros. Yes, the same Astros team that Johnson's son, Chris, is a rising prospect for.
You don't need to hand Ron Johnson a Spring Training pocket schedule to let him know when he will coach against his son this spring.
"We play him on the 16th and the 21st," Johnson said with excitement.
It didn't immediately dawn on Johnson that he would be promoted to the Majors once Mills left for Houston.
"I got a call from [assistant general manager] Ben Cherington first," Johnson said. "I must have sounded kind of matter of fact, because I talked to Ben and was like, 'Yeah, OK', because I've had calls in the past for certain situations. It was about 15, 20 minutes later I got a call from Tito and he said, 'Hey, listen, I want to let you know, you have a legitimate chance for this job, so make sure you prepare.'"
Johnson did just that, arriving to the interview with a comprehensive list of every player in the organization he had managed or coached.
Though he was excited to get the job, Johnson was by no means in a desperate situation.
"I look back at it too, I was very fortunate to do that," Johnson said of his 18-year managerial tenure in the Minors. "There's a lot of people in this country that are hurting for jobs, looking for stuff. Even last year, we talked about it. I'd be talking about it at home with my wife.
"When the interview process came about and we interviewed for this job, of course it's human nature, and we want these things, but I was thinking, 'I'm really fortunate. I have a really good job, I make decent money, we've got a roof over our heads. We eat. We've got some things.' And when this thing came about, it was like, even more."
As things tend to go in baseball, Francona and Johnson go way back. In 1984, when Francona was batting a National League-leading .346 for the Expos and blew out his knee, the player that was called up from the Minors to replace him was Johnson, who had two previous cups of coffee with the Kansas City Royals.
Johnson lasted just five games on the Montreal roster, but he will go all 162 on the same team as Francona this year.
"I've done enough bus rides," Johnson said. "They're not that bad, but I'm not afraid to get on a charter plane."
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