Kannapolis Baseball Black History Month Feature: Micah Johnson

In honor of Black History month, the Cannon Ballers will highlight former Kannapolis ball players who have not just made a name for themselves on the diamond, but players who have continued to make strides off the field to better others.

Typically, when a professional baseball player’s career ends, the vision for their next journey in life might not be as crystal clear as one would think. However, in Micah Johnson’s case, his future life's canvas could not be more perfectly painted.

Johnson was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, just 50 miles north of where he attended college in Bloomington, home to the Indiana Hoosiers. After two highly successful seasons in the Big Ten, earning second team All-Big Ten honors, the infielder was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Draft.

Once he received his promotion to the Intimidators 2013, Johnson tore up the South Atlantic League, putting up one of the most memorable seasons in Kannapolis baseball history. During his 77 games, Johnson slashed .342/.422/.530 at the plate, leading the team in triples (11), stolen bases (61), and walks (40), while also placing in the top five in 13 other offensive categories.

Johnson quickly climbed his way through the Chicago system and by the beginning of the 2015 season, the Indiana native earned a spot on the Opening Day roster for the White Sox, batting ninth and playing second base. Wasting no time at all, he recorded his first MLB hit in his second at-bat that day. Johnson went on to play in 36 games in 2015, batting .230 with 10 runs scored and three stolen bases.

Following his first year at the MLB level, Johnson was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers with there still being upside to his young career. However, during spring training in 2016, Dodger’s manager Dave Roberts asked a question that quite possibly changed the rest of Johnson’s career focus moving forward. Roberts wanted to know what they like to do in their spare time and for them to share it to the entire team. Not wanting to play the piano in front of everyone, Johnson answered art, sparking a connection with a love that he had never fully committed to.

After just one year in L.A., the Atlanta Braves traded for Johnson before the start of the 2017 season, throwing his baseball journey another curveball. Johnson spent the majority of his time in the minor leagues with both the Dodgers and Braves organizations, surpassing only 25 games played in the majors over the two-year span.

With his baseball career slowly coming to an end after a season with the Durham Bulls in 2018, Johnson decided to shift his focus to art, making the leap and officially retiring from baseball.

The artist began his new career in New Hampshire, learning to express himself on a canvas in an art studio, instead of on a baseball diamond in front of thousands of fans, although, the fans surely came running to Johnson soon again.

“Mom, can astronauts be black?” This powerful quote, spoken by his four-year old nephew, helped shape Johnson’s artwork and mindset.

Johnson’s new mission for his work: Inspire racial equality throughout all demographics, while emphasizing the need for young African-American’s to chase their dreams without limitations.

Johnson’s niche mindset proved successful early, as he began to orchestrate and sell his brilliant artwork by using the fast-growing medium of NFT’s.

On October 28, 2020, the former MLB player unveiled Sä-v(ə-)rən-tē, presenting an astronaut on one side of a closed door in an open field, with two young African-American kids (his nephews) on the other side. Each year, the programmable artwork will see the door open more and more on their birthdays, with fans having the ability to give to Johnson’s nephew’s dreams of achieving anything that they set their mind to. His nephews will share what their future goals are each year, allowing the consumer to fully understand the purpose of this well-thought-out piece of work. Making his work even more unique, all viewers will only be able to give back by the use of Bitcoin.

Following its release, 'Sä-v(ə-)rən-tē was sold for $120,000 at an auction, making it the second highest sale for an NFT art piece at that time.

After selling his most beloved piece of art, Johnson has since constructed many other depictions of his nephews in an astronaut suit and helmet, with other pictures still gaining a wealth of online traction for their powerful stance on equality needed throughout America.

Johnson continues to push the art boundaries with the help of Art Angels, a Los Angeles based art company that showcases his work. For more information on Johnson, his story, and his work, visit https://www.artangels.net/art/micah-johnson.