St. Louis— In many ways, Derek Johnson is unique as a big-league pitching coach.
Johnson didn't pitch in either the minors or the majors, so he's missing the background that most men bring to that job. The Illinois native went directly from pitching in college to coaching in college.
Johnson, 44, also wrote a book on his craft, a soup-to-nuts instructional appropriately named "The Complete Guide to Pitching." Not many big-league coaches have "author" on their résumé, either.
That uniqueness, not to mention a reputation as being a great teacher of pitching at Vanderbilt University as well as the Chicago Cubs' minor-league system, was exactly what Brewers general manager David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell looked for when building a coaching staff for the 2016 season and beyond.