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Ultimate EscapesSM Salutes Club Member, Davey Johnson, former Major League Baseball Legend and Olympic Leader Bronzed in History: Team USA Wins Olympic Medal!


August 25, 2008--Ultimate Escapes congratulates club member and baseball legend Davey Johnson, manager of Team USA, on winning Bronze in the medal round of the 2008 Summer Olympics.


The United States claimed one of the final three Olympic baseball medals when it won Bronze. It may be the last chance for one of its kind, as baseball will not be played in 2012.

The U.S. Olympic baseball team won gold in Sydney in 2000 and came to the Olympics after missing out on a bid in 2004.

This year’s team is made up of baseball veterans, as well as a few younger prospects: 14 Triple-A players, seven Double-A players and one Class-A representative. He had to work quickly to pull them together. Team USA, gathered together for the first time on July 28, just days before the Olympics began. But one of Davey’s strengths is that he is able to size up players' strengths and weaknesses and he can define roles by using pages of statistics and scouting reports. The USA is lucky to have him.

"I can't think of anything as important as winning the gold medal for your country, being up there and they're playing the national anthem with 40 other countries standing around," Johnson said in the Orlando Sentinel.

As a former second baseman, designated hitter, and manager in Major Leagues, Davey’s career is all about baseball. He was also a very successful manager for the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also was a player for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and even played for the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese League.


As a manager, Johnson won more than 1,100 games in 14 seasons, including a title with the Mets in '86. He is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner and a 1997 American League Manager Award winner. Davey is also a four-time All-Star and has played in four World Series with the Baltimore Orioles.

But still, it’s hard to compare the Olympics to a World Series. As quoted in The News & Observer, Davey said:

"You're representing an organization in the big leagues, maybe a city, maybe a state," he said. "Now you're representing all of those things, every organization, every state and city. And you have that USA across your chest. ... We're the United States' hope for a medal -- so it's a challenge."

Congrats to Davey and Team USA for Bringing Home the Bronze!