An Alexis native and former youth baseball player in Galesburg will be in uniform for the Toronto Blue Jays when the 2025 World Series begins Friday in Canada.
Graham Johnson, a 2003 Alexis High School graduate, is in his first season as bullpen coach for the American League champion Blue Jays, wearing uniform No. 82. The Blue Jays will host the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. CT on Friday.
Johnson, 39, is the son of Terry and Meredith Johnson of North Henderson. His father, Terry, a former captain of the 1974 Alexis Cardinals football team that finished second in state, told WGIL, “Graham will be the one receiving the call in the bullpen, getting the relief pitchers ready.”
Though Alexis High School lacked a baseball team, Johnson’s passion for the sport took root in Galesburg, where he played youth baseball for the White Sox under coaches Mike Duffy, Ted Harvey, Steve Mixon and his father Terry. He also competed for the ROWVA American League baseball team during his high school years.
A left-handed pitcher, Johnson starred at Culver-Stockton College from 2003 to 2007, helping the Wildcats secure two Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season titles, three conference tournament championships, and a regional title in 2006, when he posted a 2.34 ERA in nine appearances.
Johnson’s journey to the majors began after nearly a decade as a collegiate pitching instructor at schools like Culver-Stockton, Lindenwood University, Western Illinois University, and Morehead State University. He later served four years as a pitching coach in the Houston Astros’ minor league system, including with the Class AA Corpus Christi Hooks, before spending the last three seasons as pitching coach for the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
He was hired by the Blue Jays in December 2024 as their bullpen coach.
