Madden: Davey Johnson brought confidence and cockiness to the Mets

Davey Johnson , the most successful manager in Mets history who guided them to the 1986 world championship, and continued on winning after he left in stints with the Reds, Orioles, Dodgers and Nationals, died Friday at Sarasota (Fla.) Memoria Hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 82.

Johnson, who was a four-time All-Star second baseman with the Orioles in his 1960s and ‘70s playing days, was hired as Mets manager after winning the International League championship with their Triple-A team in Tidewater in 1983. At the time, Mets general manager Frank Cashen, who himself had been a fixture in the Orioles organization when Johnson was a player there, reportedly listed for him during the interview the 10 skills he looked for in manager to which Davy replied: “Yeah I got all of those.”