John is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played all or part of five seasons in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals (1976-1978), San Francisco Giants (1978-1979), and the Montreal Expos (1979-1980). Prior to being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 6th round in the 1973 Major League Draft, he attended Georgia Southern University. He made his major league debut on September 3, 1976. Following his playing career, John has had a long career managing and coaching for various organizations in the minors and the major leagues. In 1982, he was a minor league manager with the independent Miami Marlins. He joined the New York Mets organization from 1983-1996 and held various positions with the organizations. He managed the 1994 Double A Binghamton Mets to the Eastern League championships. In 1996 joined the Houston Astros organization, and in 1998 won his second championship as a manager the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Pacific Coast League in 1998. From 1999-2004, he coached with the Houston Astros major league team. In 2005 and 2007, John managed in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system, and in 2006 managed the Durham Bulls AAA team of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. John continued managing in the minor leagues for the Seattle Mariners organization from 2009-2010 before being named as the Latin America Field Coordinator for the Mariners after the 2010 season.