Johnson had a breakout year in 2000. Always considered a fine glove man with some power, Johnson blossomed into a fully realized player who hit for average AND power, and even a few walks. Offensively, his numbers were in the league of Rodriguez and Posada, nice company indeed.

There had been a warning sign even before the season that things were not good for Johnson with the Warehouse, however. The O's had taken him to arbitration for the second consecutive year, this time over a really insignificant amount of money, by baseball standards. The O's won the case, but it became apparent that the representation of Johnson by Scott Boras, considered the most contentious of agents and particularly disliked by the Warehouse, might mean that Johnson's time with the O's was limited.

And so it was. He was dealt to the White Sox for the stretch run, so the O's ended up with Fordyce and a year and a half of Charles Johnson for Armando Benitez. In 1999, it was said Johnson's numbers faded in the second half because of fatigue. He must have gotten a lot stronger, because he actually hit BETTER for the White Sox than he did for the O's, and he only started seven fewer games in 2000.

Johnson hit everyone, except lefties (.252). He hit in all counts except 0-2, he hit with none on, men in scoring position, leading off innings, and close and late. He hit at least .262 in every month, and topped .300 in May, June, and September. He hit at night, and he hit in day games. He even hit on artificial turf.

There was some question about his play calling that arose after he left, and some pitchers and coaches claimed that he called a game based on holding runners close rather than getting batters out. Despite these claims, Johnson did a good job with the Sox, and ended up returning to the Marlins in the offseason.

NOTES: Slugging percentage did drop 70 points after the All-Star break, mostly in his last month with the O's. He rebounded with the Sox...Absolutely CRUSHED the Indians, hitting .444 and slugging 1.167 in five games...at 29, surpassed his previous high slugging percentage by 130 points...Ranked at the very summit of AL catchers with a whopping .715 offensive winning percentage, in a dead heat with Posada and Pudge.