Former Shocker catcher Sean Johnson faces defining moment with Twins draft

On Wednesday, Minnesota Twins scouting director Sean Johnson will work a pitching camp for Brent Kemnitz, just like Johnson did when he caught bullpens at Wichita State.

“It’s the only one-day pitching camp in history you’ve got a scouting director working,” said Kemnitz, WSU’s former pitching coach. “When I found out he got the job, I was texting him and he was like ‘Hey, I think I can still work your pitching camps.’ ”

Five months from making the No. 1 pick in the draft, Johnson will spend three hours at the Wichita Sports Forum, because it’s what he’s always done during his trip home for the holidays.

It’s also in keeping with the people skills that the Twins saw when they promoted him to scouting director from west coast supervisor in early December.

Ask about his baseball acumen and his friends direct the conversation to his personality, his willingness to pick up the phone and his disdain for talking about his own success. He keeps in touch with many people from his WSU days, calling or stopping by Koch Arena and Eck Stadium to check on their family or wish them happy birthday.

Those friends won’t be surprised to see him at higher levels of a front office.

“He can do whatever he wants in the game of baseball,” said Nate Robertson, a former WSU and major-league pitcher. “I can’t say enough about the way he treats other people. He’s really passionate about people and he’s getting rewarded for that.”

Some of those same friends think he can cook — think Chef Bobby Flay — as well as he can scout.

Pan-roasted chicken with bacon mustard vinaigrette. Carrot cake pancakes drizzled with maple cream cheese. As much as Johnson loves baseball, he loves to cook for family and friends. On Christmas morning, his dish is German apple pancakes, made with cinnamon sugar apples and brown sugar, topped with cinnamon syrup, and cracked pepper applewood bacon. On Thanksgiving, he makes cilantro-pesto mashed potatoes.

“You taste it and you wonder why all potatoes don’t taste that way,” said Alex Johnson, his younger brother and director of athletic development at WSU. “He’s the go-to guy for every family meal. He does some things you don’t even see on the Food Network, things he designed himself.”

Sean Johnson, 41, played baseball at South High and caught for the Shockers from 1996-98. While he played in 20 games, starting one, in those three seasons, his coaches and teammates saw a baseball man. He attended pitchers’ meetings, caught every bullpen session possible and developed a reputation for helping pitchers.

“I always loved throwing to him,” Robertson said. “He always tried to get things as close to perfect as possible. He could read hitters. He knew how to set up a sequence of pitches.”

Johnson played during a golden era at WSU. Watching and working with future big-leaguers such as Robertson, Casey Blake, Kevin Hooper, Zach Sorensen and Braden Looper pushed him toward a career in baseball. Those players, and others, possessed plenty of talent. They also grew into college stars and advanced in the pros because of their work ethic and smarts. Watching them gave Johnson a three-year course in how talent and behavior can make a career.

“That was a huge growing point for him,” said younger brother Ryan Johnson, who is a scout for the Detroit Tigers. “He’s very good at absorbing information and translating it. Being a catcher and playing with those elite guys, he learned a lot.”

Johnson came to WSU with plans to coach in college.

“Perhaps he was a little athletically limited as a player, but he had no limits in his intellectual ability or work ethic,” former WSU coach Gene Stephenson said. “He was very astute as to what it took to make up a baseball player.”

Stephenson hired him as director of operations. Two years later, Detroit assistant general manager David Chadd, then with the Florida Marlins, hired him as a scout. Johnson joined the Twins as an area scout in 2002.

“Gene was my hero; Brent was my hero,” he said. “The whole scouting profession kind of came out of nowhere.”

Minnesota picks first in the June draft, a choice that Johnson will take the lead role in determining. He oversees 26 scouts and will work with them to present his bosses the possibilities. That is the aspect of his job that he refers to as “air traffic control.” With two more picks in the top 40, the draft is a landmark opportunity for the franchise, which last made the playoffs in 2010.

When he started scouting, he assumed the best scouts possessed a magic eye for evaluating swings, arms and speed. Now he sees the job as mixing those measurements with personality, body language, interaction with teammates and coaches — player makeup, as they say — to make the best choice. The mystical “makeup” factor is an area in which many of his former WSU teammates excelled and started to shape his thinking about how to identify players.

“The scouting director has to be a great listener and trust in your people,” he said. “You're leading people toward a good decision.”

Johnson said the Twins could use a pitcher with a quick path to the majors. In December, it’s too early to lock in on such needs. Johnson said the Twins are working from a list of around 10 players, with plenty of room for changes.

“You have to stay fluid enough to recognize that a guy might come out of nowhere,” Johnson said. “When you're picking that high you have to take the guy that's going to make the most impact and be the most dynamic player you can get.”

On Wednesday, Johnson will observe and coach athletes age 13 and up. He will give them three hours of attention, a tribute to coaches such as Stephenson, Kemnitz, Jim Thomas and Mike Gehrer, who first showed Johnson how to be passionate about catching, who did the same for him.

“Loyalty’s always been a huge thing for me,” Johnson said. “When I think about Wichita State, or my baseball life, I loved being a part of a team. I loved my teammates. Most of those guys are still my best friends.”

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Former Shocker catcher Sean Johnson faces defining moment with Twins draft."