When the
Eldorado (Albuquerque) baseball team beat
Cleveland (Rio Rancho) on Tuesday to earn longtime coach Jim Johns his 500th career victory, Johns didn't get overly sentimental.
"My focus was on the next ballgame," said Johns, whose Eagles (11-1) play host to Piedra Vista (Farmington) on Saturday. "We're in the middle of a season, so it was a little early to get caught up in the emotion of a milestone."
Johns, 58, is in his 27th season as the Eldorado skipper, having guided the school to six state championships, including three straight titles from 1999-2001. Johns has compiled a 500-179-3 record with the Eagles.
Jim Johns, shown here during his 400th win, hasupped it to 500 now.
Courtesy photo
It's believed that Johns is only the second coach in New Mexico state history to reach 500 wins, as John Gutierrez compiled a 581-262 record at Bloomfield and Navajo Prep (Farmington). Tthe New Mexico Activities Association website does not list career leaders in coaching wins for baseball.
Although you'll never hear Johns heap praise upon himself, his assistant coaches and head coaches from rival schools mention him with the highest of honors.
"I would say to a lot of people, he's the Godfather of coaches in New Mexico," Rio Rancho coach Ron Murphy said in the Albuquerque Journal. "That's the way I see him."
Mike Stell, who has been Johns' right-hand man for 12 years, has known Johns for 27 years. Before becoming Johns' trusted assistant, Stell coached Eldorado's freshman team for three years and the junior varsity squad for 12 years. Over the years, the two have developed a relationship that extends well beyond the diamond.
"I wouldn't say we're best friends, but we are pretty close," said Stell, who also coaches with Johns in the Albuquerque Post 49 American Legion baseball program. "We talk about it all the time, that our time together has lasted longer than most marriages."
Indeed, Johns has been going at this for so long that he's had nearly a dozen former players whose sons have now played for him, including four kids on this year's team alone.
"Winning is great, but one of the greatest satisfactions you can have is seeing former players you used to coach who have had sons of their own play for you," Johns said.
Johns is definitely a no-frills, old-school coach who likes to see things done the right way. Johns knew he was going to be a coach even before he graduated from high school at Highland (Albuquerque). He credits Jim Gates, his junior high baseball and football coach, and Al Sutton, his high school baseball coach, as being two of the most influential coaching figures in his life.
Johns, left, with Mike Stell
Courtesy photo
"Both of those guys were really old-school as far as how tough practices were and how they competed, and I kind of modeled some of my coaching after those guys," Johns said.
Stell said Johns hasn't changed much over the years. Sure, Johns has mellowed out just a little bit — "At one point he was a pretty good screamer in the old-school way, but he doesn't have to rant, hoot or holler as much because he's got assistants who can do the screaming now," Stell said. But he's still the same in terms of taking an approach of being a stickler for fundamentals.
Even though Johns coaches baseball from January until the end of the American Legion season in late July or early August, he still has plenty left in the tank.
"It's kind of a year to year thing, but I think I'll be around a few more years," he said. "As long as I can put in the amount of time and energy into coaching to be fair to the kids, I'll keep doing it."
By the time August rolls around, Johns needs a break from the game. And he certainly gets a respite from another game: Hunting game.
Every fall, Johns spends his time as an elk and deer hunting guide in Colorado and New Mexico. Asked what gives him more satisfaction, helping a baseball team win or helping people bag an elk or deer, Johns didn't hesitate.
"Winning baseball games are more fun, but having clients who are happy with their trophy is a neat experience as well," he said.
Whether he's on the field — Johns takes pride in mowing the grass and doing overall maintenance at the school's facility — or out in the wilderness leading a hunt, Johns wills himself to succeed.
"He's the hardest-working, most driven and competitive guy I've ever been around," Stell said. "But he's also one of the most humble guys I've ever been around. His goal is to teach the kids the game of baseball."
In the history of New Mexico, few, if any, have done it better than Johns.
