Davey Johnson, manager of '86 world champion Mets, dies at 82

Davey Johnson, the manager of the 1986 world champion New York Mets , has died. He was 82.

Longtime Mets public relations representative Jay Horwitz said Johnson's wife, Susan, informed him of his death after a long illness. Johnson was at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida, when he died Friday, Horwitz said.

Johnson was a power-hitting second baseman who played 13 years in the majors, sharing in World Series titles with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 and 1970 and hitting 43 homers for the Atlanta Braves in 1973 while serving as an offensive wingman for teammate Henry Aaron.

"I just lost a friend, teammate and confidant," Hall of Famer and former Orioles ace Jim Palmer wrote in a text Saturday morning about his former teammate.

But Johnson's most significant professional mark was as