Slugging first-baseman Johnson returns for senior year

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Posted 7:27AM on Thursday, August 22, 2002

CLEMSON, S.C. - In an off-season of disappointment, Clemson coach Jack Leggett finally got some good news Wednesday - slugging first-baseman Michael Johnson will be back for his senior year. Johnson said frustrating negotiations with the San Diego Padres, who selected him in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft in June, led him home to Clemson. ``I didn't feel like (San Diego) treated me like I deserve to be treated,'' said Johnson, who hit .384 with 25 homers and 81 RBIs last season. Even with Johnson's return, pro baseball took a heavy toll on Leggett's lineup card. He watched three Clemson recruits - pitcher Donald Grienke and outfielders Jeremy Hermida and Jeff Francoeur - go in the draft's opening round. A fourth, first baseman Matthew Whitney, was taken as a supplemental pick before the second round. All have signed pro contracts. Leggett also bit his nails over decisions of highly drafted juniors Johnson and third baseman Jeff Baker. ``We were disappointed we lost some incoming freshman,'' Leggett said. ``Maybe they played their best baseball a few months too early. But when you get a surprise like Michael Johnson coming back it gets you excited.'' Johnson had hoped to join Clemson shortstop Khalil Greene, taken as the 13th overall pick, in the San Diego organization. But it didn't work out, he said. ``They're unprofessional, in my opinion,'' said Johnson, from Georgetown. The wait is still on for Baker, a fourth-round pick of the Colorado Rockies who Leggett said was enrolled but had not attended the first day of classes - the drop-dead, deal-breaking point for major league teams to sign their draftees. Johnson and Leggett had no clue if Baker, who had 25 homers and 87 RBIs, would remain for a second-straight run to the College World Series. ``He's trying to work something out, make a decision,'' Leggett said of Baker. If Baker comes back, it would be the second consecutive time Leggett's team was boosted by juniors who turn down the pros for college. A year ago, Greene returned for his senior after getting drafted in the 14th round. Ace Steve Reba was picked in the 16th round and came back. The two were critical Greene won several player of the year awards as he hit .470 with 27 homers, 91 RBIs, 33 doubles and 134 hits - in Clemson's trip to Omaha and the CWS. Johnson knows the World Series goal is the same this year. ``I'm very excited about coming back,'' Johnson said. ``It different than with the Padres, I feel wanted here.'' Leggett wasn't sure what deadlines Baker faces with the Rockies - or his Clemson professors. ``I would think by Friday or Monday, he would have to know,'' the coach said. Leggett had built a top-notch program since taking over in 1994 and attracted some of the best high school talent in the country. Major league scouts noticed. ``You never really know when it comes to the draft, who'll sign and who won't,'' Leggett said. ``I've been trying for 25 years to figure it out and I still can't.'' The Tigers lost several juniors to the major leagues. Pitcher B.J. LaMura signed with the Chicago White Sox, pitcher Matt Henrie signed with Arizona and pitcher Jarrod Schmidt signed with Cincinnati. There's no guarantee Johnson's draft position will rise next spring. And Leggett knows his slugger could miss out on a bonus of more than $100,000. ``I don't feel sorry for him, though,'' Leggett said. ``When I saw him, he had a smile on his face, a gleam in his eye."