Johnny Monell: Bronx Born 2015 NL Champion Mets Backup Catcher (2015)
Monell SR. also played baseball in Italy, Tawain, Mexico & Puerto Rico. As he & his wife divorced, he would get half custody of Monell Jr.
Johnny would spend time traveling with his father & grew up around many different baseball clubhouses.
At seven years old he used to take players equipment & put it in his locker. One day former Met Bernard Gilkey & friends put the kid safely in an equipment bag & hung it on a door. It was their way of telling his father to have him stop taking the others equipment. His father said he let him hang there a bit to teach him a lesson, it was all in fun.
Monell grew up in the Bronx across from Pelham Bay Park, playing baseball there & in between the apartment buildings where he lived. He & his friends would hit a tennis ball across to another building with the rules being each level was a different kind of hit. It was there he said he learned to hit up the middle.
Quotes- Jonny Monell: “You had to hit it up the middle. If you hit the buildings, it was an out. To this day, I’m an up-the-middle, gap hitter. I really think it comes from playing that game at Pelham Park.”
While his father was playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, the 12-year-old Monell was shagging fly balls in the outfield. It was then that Cubs catcher; Hector Villanueva told him to put on his catching gear & play catcher.
Monell grew up in the Bronx across from Pelham Bay Park, playing baseball there & in between the apartment buildings where he lived. He & his friends would hit a tennis ball across to another building with the rules being each level was a different kind of hit. It was there he said he learned to hit up the middle.
Quotes- Jonny Monell: “You had to hit it up the middle. If you hit the buildings, it was an out. To this day, I’m an up-the-middle, gap hitter. I really think it comes from playing that game at Pelham Park.”
Next thing his father knew, he hears that his son is catching pitchers in the bullpen. From then on, Monell Jr. originally a short stop, became a catcher.
Monell was a baseball star at Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx & later attended Seminole Community College in Florida. In 2007 he was chosen by the San Francisco Giants as a 30th round draft pick.
After six years in the minor leagues, he got a big-league chance in 2013.
Monell was a baseball star at Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx & later attended Seminole Community College in Florida. In 2007 he was chosen by the San Francisco Giants as a 30th round draft pick.
MLB Career: He played in eight games for the Giants batting .125 with an RBI.
It was tough for a catcher in the Giants organization with a guy like Buster Posey behind the plate.
His contract was purchased by the Baltimore Orioles, then the L.A. Dodgers but he never made to their big-league clubs.
On November 6th, 2015, the New York Mets gave him a shot.
Mets Career: In 2015 Monell Jr. was invited to the Mets Spring Training & impressed with a .357 batting average in 42 at bats. He was known more for being a left-handed power hitter instead of a defensive player.
Quotes- Johnny Monell Jr.: “It’s hard to imagine playing in Citi Field, playing for the Mets, knowing my dad spent his entire career trying to get to the same place. Growing up, it wasn’t that far away, just across the Whitestone Bridge.”
That season, with an injury to the Mets main catcher Travis d'Arnaud, Monell got a chance with the Mets. Although highly touted rookie Kevin Plawecki was on board, as well as Anthony Recker, Monell was still getting a chance as the fourth string catcher.
Quotes- Johnny Monell Jr.: “It’s hard to imagine playing in Citi Field, playing for the Mets, knowing my dad spent his entire career trying to get to the same place. Growing up, it wasn’t that far away, just across the Whitestone Bridge.”
That season, with an injury to the Mets main catcher Travis d'Arnaud, Monell got a chance with the Mets. Although highly touted rookie Kevin Plawecki was on board, as well as Anthony Recker, Monell was still getting a chance as the fourth string catcher.
Two RBIs: On May 10th, he came into the game as a pinch hitter with the Mets ahead of the Phillies 5-4 at Citizens Bank Park. Monell delivered a two-run double scoring Recker & Ruben Tejada.
Monell struggled not getting another hit over 12 games six weeks later as his average fell to .059. He was sent back to AAA Vegas but returned again at the end of June.
On June 28th he got a start & collected two hits while scoring a run in a 7-2 Mets win over the Reds. From July 2nd to July 12th, Monell hit safely in four straight games.
On July 6th in San Francisco, he got some revenge on his old Giants team by hitting a two-run double off Santiago Casilla in the top of the 9th inning breaking open a scoreless game.
On June 28th he got a start & collected two hits while scoring a run in a 7-2 Mets win over the Reds. From July 2nd to July 12th, Monell hit safely in four straight games.
He scored the third run of the game on Juan Lagares' base hit. The Mets won it 3-0 as Jonathan Neise pitched one of his best games, a three hit eight inning shutout
He was recalled again in September getting into three more regular season games. In 27 games
Monell Jr. hit .167 with a two doubles & four RBIs. He did not play in or make the post season roster.
Monell Jr. hit .167 with a two doubles & four RBIs. He did not play in or make the post season roster.
In 2016 he played at AAA Las Vegam batting .276. In 2017 he played in the Korean baseball League.
Retirement: Monell lives in Southern New Jersey where his father runs a baseball school in Margate, New Jersey.
Family: In March 2024 Johnny married Janessa (Rios) in Galloway, New Jersey.