CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Reed Johnson have agreed to a $1.15 million, one-year contract.

The 35-year-old batted .309 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 111 games for Chicago last season, his second stint with the team. He
also played for the Cubs from 2008-09, batting .287 with 10 homers
and 72 RBIs in 174 games.

Johnson is a career .283 hitter with 59 homers and 349 RBIs in 997 games over nine major league seasons with the Cubs, the Blue Jays and the Dodgers.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Reed Johnson have agreed to a $1.15 million, one-year contract.

The 35-year-old batted .309 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 111 games for Chicago last season, his second stint with the team. He also played for the Cubs from 2008-09, batting .287 with 10 homers and 72 RBIs in 174 games.

Johnson is a career .283 hitter with 59 homers and 349 RBIs in 997 games over nine major league seasons with the Cubs, the Blue Jays and the Dodgers.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CHICAGO (AP)—The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Reed Johnson have agreed to a
$1.15 million, one-year contract.

The 35-year-old batted .309 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 111 games for
Chicago last season, his second stint with the team. He also played for the Cubs
from 2008-09, batting .287 with 10 homers and 72 RBIs in 174 games.

Johnson is a career .283 hitter with 59 homers and 349 RBIs in 997 games
over nine major league seasons with the Cubs, the Blue Jays and the Dodgers.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Reed Johnson have agreed to a $1.15 million, one-year contract.

The 35-year-old batted .309 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 111 games for Chicago last season, his second stint with the team. He also played for the Cubs from 2008-09, batting .287 with 10 homers and 72 RBIs in 174 games.

Johnson is a career .283 hitter with 59 homers and 349 RBIs in 997 games over nine major league seasons with the Cubs, the Blue Jays and the Dodgers.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

December 30, 2011 – Northwest League (NWL) Boise Hawks
CHICAGO, Ill. – The Chicago Cubs have rounded out their minor league coaching staffs, announcing this afternoon that Bill Buckner will serve as hitting coach for the Boise Hawks.

Buckner, a resident of Eagle, returned to coaching last season as the manager of the Brockton Rox, leading the team to a 51-42 record in the independent CanAm League, earning the squad a postseason berth. He will replace Desi Wilson, who will serve as Class-A Daytona’s hitting coach.

“We are extremely excited in the Cubs decision to have Bill Buckner as our hitting coach,” said Todd Rahr, Boise Hawks president/general manager. “To have someone local on the staff, who had such a great career, will be beneficial to our organization. Bill had a Hall of Fame caliber career and we look forward to working with him year round. It will definitely be a treat.”

Buckner rejoins the Cubs system for the first time since playing for the big league team from 1977-84 – winning the 1980 National League batting crown and earning a spot in the 1981 All Star Game. The 22-year veteran served as the Chicago White Sox hitting coach in 1996 and 1997, while also serving as a hitting coach in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system.

Buckner played in 2199 major league games with the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, Angels, and Royals, hitting .289 with 174 career home runs and 1,208 RBI. He played in a pair of World Series’ – in 1974 with the Dodgers and 1986 with the Red Sox.

Three others return to the Hawks for the 2012 season – manager Mark Johnson, pitching coach David Rosario, and trainer Bob Grimes. Johnson skippered last season’s squad to a 36-40 record, including Boise’s first postseason berth since the 2006 season.

The Hawks, in their 12th season as an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, open up the 2012 Northwest League season on June 15 at Salem-Keizer, with their Memorial Stadium opener on June 20 against Eugene. Season, mini-pack, bonus books, and group nights for Hawks’ games are available at 322-5000 or online at www.boisehawks.com.

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• Bill Buckner Named Boise Hawks Hitting Coach – Boise Hawks

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

CHICAGO (AP)—Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux talked with Chicago
Cubs executives on Wednesday, becoming at least the third candidate to interview
for the vacant manager’s job.

Maddux, who has helped the Rangers win back-to-back AL pennants, was
scheduled to have a news conference later Wednesday.

New director of baseball operations Theo Epstein fired Mike Quade last week.
The Cubs have also interviewed Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin and Brewers
hitting coach Dale Sveum.

The Rangers had an American League-high 5.37 ERA in 2008, the year before
Maddux arrived. They have improved each year since, including a 3.79 ERA this
season that was their lowest since 1983.

Maddux’s ability to get the most out of the Rangers’ staff—even after the
loss of Cliff Lee(notes) from the 2010 AL championship team—is certainly appealing to
Epstein.

In 15 major league seasons, Mike Maddux pitched for Philadelphia (1986-89),
the Los Angeles Dodgers (1990, 1999), San Diego (1991-92), the New York Mets
(1993-94), Pittsburgh (1995), Boston (1995-96), Seattle (1997), Montreal
(1998-99) and Houston (2000).

The name Maddux will always resonate around Wrigley Field.

Maddux is the older brother of four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux,
a former Cubs’ ace who later was an assistant to former Chicago GM Jim Hendry.

Greg Maddux’s departure from the Cubs as a free agent after winning the
first of his four straight Cy Young awards in 1992 is still considered one of
the worst episodes in the franchise’s long history of futility.

Maddux went on to star with the Braves and establish himself as one of the
greatest pitchers of all-time. He returned to the Cubs in 2004 and before he was
traded to the Dodgers in 2006, he got his 300th win with Chicago. He retired
with 355 victories.

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