A career week in just one night

Today marks the 37th anniversary of one of the greatest performances on any level in pro baseball as first baseman Ron Johns goes 6-for-6 with three homers, three singles and nine runs batted in during the Harrisburg Senators' 26-9 rout of the Albany-Colonie Yankees in a Class AA Eastern League game on City Island.

Johns’ singular performance before a crowd of 4,197 on this Wednesday night in 1987 quickly makes footnotes of otherwise brilliant, five-hit nights for teammates Tommy Gregg and Dimas Gutierrez, who in this rout of the Yankees combine for six singles, two triples, two homers and eight RBIs.

Johns’ career night comes five days after he joins Harrisburg in a trade from St. Louis’ organization that sends outfielder Ben Abner to the Cardinals.

Johns hits .302 with nine homers in only 40 games for the Senators before his promotion to Class AAA Vancouver.

He returns to Harrisburg in 1988, but hits only .213 in 19 games before his once-promising playing career ends at the age of 25.