Adrian Johnson

Adrian Andre Johnson

• Height 5' 9", Weight 210 lb.

• Born May 25, 1975 in Houston, TX USA

Biographical Information

Adrian Johnson began his umpiring career in the Gulf Coast League in 1998. He moved up to the 1999 Pioneer League, 2000-2002 Florida State League, 2002-2003 Eastern League, 2004-2005 Arizona Fall League and was in the International League starting in 2004. Johnson was a Major League Baseball vacation and injury fill-in starting in 2006 before becoming a member of the full-time umpiring staff in 2009; when he worked with Chuck Meriwether on a crew, it marked the first time in MLB history that two African-Americans umpired the same game. Johnson also worked the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Johnson was named a member of the umpiring crew headed by Fieldin Culbreth in 2013. That crew was disciplined for an egregious misinterpretation of the rules on May 9, 2013, when they allowed Houston Astros manager Bo Porter to make an illegal substitution of a relief pitcher, over the protest of rival manager Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As crew chief, Culbreth bore the brunt of the Commissioner's office's wrath, being issued a two-day suspension in addition to the fine, but the other three members of the crew were fined as well for failing to correct the mistake. In 2023, he was named a crew chief.

Related Sites

• Adrian Johnson on Retrosheet.org