AZ Snake Pit - Randy Johnson, 2015 Hall of FamerAn unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2015-07-27T00:37:53-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/72681662015-07-27T00:37:53-04:002015-07-27T00:37:53-04:00Randy Johnson enters the Hall of Fame
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<p>At Cooperstown,. New York, this afternoon, the Big Unit entered the Hall of Fame, becoming the first player to do so as a Diamondback.</p> <p>It's the first time I've ever watched a Hall of Fame induction ceremony in its entirety, though even here, I must confess to paying a good deal less attention to the other candidates than to Johnson. It was certainly an impressive class, both in quantity and quality.. You have to go back a full 60 years to find the last time that four players were elected in the same season, and even there, all of those chosen were on the ballot for between their fourth and sixteenth time (this being before the 15-year rule was instituted). This time, three out of the four - Johnson, John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez - were first-ballot Hall of Famers, with only Craig Biggio a holdover from previous year.</p>
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<div class="pullquote">"So many of the reasons that I've been inducted into the Hall of Fame are long gone now. My fastball is gone. I no longer have a mullet. And my scowl is long gone."<span>-Randy Johnson</span>
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<p>Interesting to contrast the different styles and approaches of the speeches given by the four inductees. Biggio went first, and began choking up almost immediately, causing Mrs. SnakePit to exclaim, "There's no crying in baseball!" Smoltz went for a more light-hearted approach, at one point donning a large wig, but probably went on too long. It was, appropriately, like watching a Jeremy Hellickson start; you would drift off to do something else for a bit, then come back and find yourself thinking, "Hang on, he's <i>still </i>speaking?" I did enjoy the accordion references, however, and his warning of the dangers from young pitchers being overused.</p>
<p>Martinez perhaps received the loudest ovation from the Cooperstown crowd, estimated at 45,000 in number.. Like all the inductees, he mentioned the other three players going into the Hall of Fame beside him, calling Randy Johnson his "brother from another mother"! Unlike the others, he seemed to speak without notes, switching from English to Spanish and back again, and finished by calling up fellow Hall of Famer Juan Marichal to unfurl the Dominican flag, perhaps a pointed jab at the idiotic remarks of Colin Cowherd [oh, look: an NFL fan says something dumb about baseball. This is my unsurprised face]</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3909240/randy_pedro.0.jpg" alt="Randy Johnson Pedro Martinez"><br>[<i>Photo credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports</i>]</p>
<p>But it was Johnson for whom I was watching, and wasn't disappointed. The Big Unit has always been a private person, introverted and intense. The contrast to Martinez could not have been more marked, and it was clear that Johnson was not as comfortable or at ease, as someone like Smoltz, who has made a post-playing career in the media; Randy's chosen art-form, photography, is almost a solitary pursuit. So, after a solid tribute video from former manager Bob Brenly, Randy didn't deliver the most eloquent or grandiose of speeches, it would have to be said. But that didn't matter: for what Johnson may have lacked in polish, he more than made up for, in pure heart.</p>
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<div class="pullquote">"Thank you, Mom. You're the Hall of Famer. I love you so much. You're the most important person in my life." <span>- Randy Johnson</span>
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<p>That came through the most when speaking about his parents. Johnson's father passed away in 1992, so never saw the true ace into which RJ would develop. He did get to see Johnson's no-hitter with the Mariners, and Johnson recalled: "I gave him a call, and he said it was far from perfect -- I walked seven batters. Thirteen or 14 years later, I was perfect, Dad, that one game." Hey, it was actually only six walks that day, Randy: don't be so hard on yourself. He followed with an emotional and touching tribute to his mother, in attendance - a secretary for 25 years at General Electric, she still found time to raise six kids, and make sure Randy got to take part in Little League.</p>
<p>He also commented on his relationship with the fans over the years. "If I was a visiting player coming in to pitch against your team, you motivated me by screaming at me. If you were rooting for me, I would run through a brick wall for you and throw as many pitches as I needed to throw to get that game and get us a victory." No-one who ever saw him pitch for the Diamondbacks would doubt the absolute truth of that statement. And, in typical RJ style, he shone the spotlight elsewhere, playing tribute to US troops and acknowledging their service - both USO and the Wounded Warriors Project are big parts of Johnson's charitable work.</p>
<p>It was a memorable event, even experienced second-hand through television; I know we had at least one SnakePitter in attendance, and I look forward to reading their account of proceedings in due course. Of course, the honors don't stop here, with Johnson's #51 due to be retired in a couple of weeks at Chase Field. I'm sure Randy will be looking forward to that, particularly because he probably won't be expected to give a 20-minute speech for the occasion! But this was an honor truly well-deserved, and I can think of no-one better than Randy Johnson, to become the first Diamondbacks in the Hall of Fame.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3909248/randy_photo.0.jpg" alt="Randy Photo"><br>[<i>Photo credit: Elsa/Getty Images</i>]</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/7/27/9044997/randy-johnson-enters-the-hall-of-fameJim McLennan2015-07-26T16:36:55-04:002015-07-26T16:36:55-04:00Randy Johnson's Hall of Fame Induction in Tweets.
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<p>Randy Johnson is now a Hall of Famer. Here's how the event unfolded on Twitter. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">First time I've had the honor of saying I was a teammate of a HOF'er. Congrats to Randy Johnson. I was in awe of you everyday.</p>
— Eric Knott (@eknott11) <a href="https://twitter.com/eknott11/status/625337309165039617">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">They are starting to file into their seats here for HOF induction ceremony. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dbacks?src=hash">#Dbacks</a> <a href="http://t.co/kX3KZ6fQIU">pic.twitter.com/kX3KZ6fQIU</a></p>
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGilbertMLB/status/625340252480237568">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">And today, Randy Johnson enters the National <a href="https://twitter.com/BaseballHall">@BaseballHall</a> of Fame. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOFWKND?src=hash">#HOFWKND</a> <a href="http://t.co/XojzoxprG1">pic.twitter.com/XojzoxprG1</a></p>
— #RJ51HOF (@Dbacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks/status/625347524799270912">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The view from the <a href="https://twitter.com/BaseballHall">@BaseballHall</a> stage. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOFWKND?src=hash">#HOFWKND</a> <a href="http://t.co/JYZKHMs5DR">pic.twitter.com/JYZKHMs5DR</a></p>
— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/625349203225477120">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Portrait of Legends. The Hall of Fame Class of 2015 moments before the Induction Ceremony. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOFWKND?src=hash">#HOFWKND</a> <a href="http://t.co/bk665s7yvu">pic.twitter.com/bk665s7yvu</a></p>
— Baseball Hall (@BaseballHall) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaseballHall/status/625352709399515136">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I would have liked to have faced you Reggie [Jackson]." - Randy Johnson <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOFWKND?src=hash">#HOFWKND</a> // we would have LOVED to see that!</p>
— Baseball Hall (@BaseballHall) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaseballHall/status/625391332794568704">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dbacks?src=hash">#Dbacks</a> Nation watching from home. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a> <a href="http://t.co/sL24EqOoyO">pic.twitter.com/sL24EqOoyO</a></p>
— #RJ51HOF (@Dbacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks/status/625391341929795585">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Randy Johnson is on the podium in Cooperstown. <a href="http://t.co/NC1wJVzG7t">pic.twitter.com/NC1wJVzG7t</a></p>
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickpiecoro/status/625391649124941824">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">RJ on fans "Those screaming at me.. motivated me. If you were cheering for me, I would run through a brick wall for you to win." <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a></p>
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) <a href="https://twitter.com/CamCox12/status/625392297249779716">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The human side of Randy is coming out right now. Very humble and grateful guy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a></p>
— Tweeter McGavin (@tubingtyler) <a href="https://twitter.com/tubingtyler/status/625392504737632256">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dbacks?src=hash">#Dbacks</a> Randy Johnson, to his mother in his Hall of Fame speech: "Thank you, mom. You are the Hall of Famer ... I love you so much."</p>
— Jack Magruder (@JackMagruder) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackMagruder/status/625393172223389696">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Panorama of Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with Randy Johnson on the stage. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOFWKND?src=hash">#HOFWKND</a> <a href="http://t.co/8MEHvTK7Aw">pic.twitter.com/8MEHvTK7Aw</a></p>
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSPORTSAZ/status/625394549922373632">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I'm so happy to be in the Hall of Fame." And we're all so happy for you. Thanks for representing the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dbacks?src=hash">#Dbacks</a>. <a href="http://t.co/KkERvRAAZL">pic.twitter.com/KkERvRAAZL</a></p>
— #RJ51HOF (@Dbacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks/status/625394625583255552">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Cool moment watching Randy Johnson's induction speech for <a href="https://twitter.com/BaseballHall">@BaseballHall</a> from <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks">@Dbacks</a> dugout. <a href="http://t.co/XbJSQsGZJp">pic.twitter.com/XbJSQsGZJp</a></p>
— Casey Wilcox (@CaseyWilcoxAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/CaseyWilcoxAZ/status/625397933123354624">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Randy Johnson, The Big Unit, my brother from another mother!" -<a href="https://twitter.com/45PedroMartinez">@45PedroMartinez</a> everybody. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOFWKND?src=hash">#HOFWKND</a> <a href="http://t.co/h5GqskhI4U">pic.twitter.com/h5GqskhI4U</a></p>
— #RJ51HOF (@Dbacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks/status/625399329063239680">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The emotion and love for the game was humbling. Thank you Randy Johnson for sharing this day with all baseball fans especially <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks">@Dbacks</a> fans</p>
— Jeff Summers (@azjazzyj) <a href="https://twitter.com/azjazzyj/status/625394967129632768">July 26, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Leave it up to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a> to make this day not about him, baseball or you & me as fans. Best moment of the day so far, by far. Humility.</p>
— Bruhette (.469) (@AzSportsGirl63) <a href="https://twitter.com/AzSportsGirl63/status/625397370134491137">July 26, 2015</a>
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https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/7/26/9042081/randy-johnsons-hall-of-fame-induction-in-tweetsJim McLennan2015-07-26T12:00:03-04:002015-07-26T12:00:03-04:00Randy Johnson enters the Hall of Fame
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<p>Today, a player will enter the Hall of Fame as a Diamondback for the first time, as Randy Johnson joins the pantheon of the greats in Cooperstown.</p> <p>The class of 2015 are quite an elite. It will only be the third time in Hall of Fame history that four players have been elected in the same year, with Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz all entering Cooperstown today. The induction ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10:30 am Arizona time, and will be broadcast on the MLB Network. It will also be available on MLB.com and BaseballHall.org, and through MLB.com At Bat. The Diamondbacks, for their part, will be opening the gates to Chase Field early tomorrow, at 11am, so that fans can watch Randy's ceremony on the Jumbotron there.</p>
<p>It has also been announced that the Hall of Fame plaques for the players concerned will temporarily leave Cooperstown in the weeks to come, to visit the parks of their respective teams, so fans can see them up close. For Randy Johnson's plaque, it will be at Chase Field for the games taking place on August 7-0 - the second of which is also the day on which the Big Unit's #51 will be retired by the Diamondbacks, to hang alongside the numbers of Luis Gonzalez and Jackie Robinson high above the park. We'll get to that in due course; for now, this will be our open thread for today's induction ceremony. It promises to be a memorable one.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/7/26/9040977/randy-johnson-enters-the-hall-of-fameJim McLennan2015-07-25T17:00:03-04:002015-07-25T17:00:03-04:00How Randy Johnson spoiled my love of baseball
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<p>...albeit in a good way. Kinda.</p> <p>I moved out to Arizona in the fall of 2000. My direct experience of the game prior to that point consisted of a couple of games seen in person on previous trips; a few contests screened extremely late at night on a minor British television channel; the odd video-tape sent to me by Chris; and many, <i>many</i> hours of Earl Weaver Baseball. But now, I was in a town with actual, for-real, major-league franchise, and the following year, I took full advantage of it. Of course, we all know what 2001 was like for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a>. As a debut season, it could not have been better scripted to take a rookie Brit and turn them into a life-long devotee of the local team.</p>
<p>That said - and I absolutely wouldn't trade the memories of the year for anything - lucking into something like that for your first taste of the sport is a double-edged sword, because I wasn't able to appreciate it as much. It has now been 14 seasons since that, and not only does that remain the team's only championship, they have not won a game past the Division Series since. If something appears easy, you simply take it for granted. 2001 was like my turning 18 and going downstairs to find Penelope Cruz sitting on the couch wearing a warm smile and holding a bottle of chocolate syrup. Yeah, it was great, but every year since has failed to recapture that experience.</p>
<p>Certainly, I wasn't able to grasp fully how dominant Johnson was until after he had left the D-backs for the first time, at the end of 2004. From 2001-2004, he made 123 regular-season appearances: he lost only 33. Many of the L's were because the offense didn't show up; in 24 of those, Arizona scored two or fewer, and in the majority (18), it was zero or one run. So, over a four-year period, including a season on one of the worst teams in NL history, <span>Randy Johnson</span> lost a total of <b>nine</b> times where he got more than two runs of support [Don't forget, this was in an era where offensive exploded; the 2001 and 2002 D-backs both scored over <u>200</u><i> </i>runs above what we did last season]</p>
<p>We are talking insane numbers in just about every way. Let's cherry-pick a couple of favorites. In 2002, Johnson threw eight complete games in 35 starts. Since the beginning of last season, in 257 attempts, the entire D-backs staff have a total of three. In 2001, Johnson struck out 372 batters; <span>Curt Schilling</span>, the following year, is the only other National League pitcher since to come within <i>one hundred strikeouts</i> of that figure. We may <u>never</u> see another 300 K season again. And there I was, sitting on the couch, casually observing the Big Unit in action, like a third-grader in front of a Van Gogh, going "Ooh! Pretty colors!"</p>
<p>That was the norm for me, over the first four years of my "true" baseball fandom. Every fifth day, Johnson rolled out there and the Diamondbacks having a good chance to win was the closest to a sure thing that existed in baseball. Even in the depths of the crappy 2004 season - and by that point, I did know enough to appreciate just how bad the year was - you knew there was always the chance for something special in a Johnson start. That's exactly what happened, on the magical day in Atlanta, when the stars aligned, and Johnson tossed the sole perfect game in franchise history.</p>
<p>There have been some perfect games thrown by mediocre pitchers, and many of the greatest have never thrown even a no-hitter: Maddux, Martinez, Carlton. Johnson had come close on occasion: he already had a no-hitter (albeit, a six-walk one!) under his belt with Seattle, and had faced one over the minimum, against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> at Bank One Ballpark <a target="_blank" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI200309140.shtml">the previous September</a>. But I missed the first few innings of his perfecto. Why? <i>Because I was out getting a hair-cut. </i>That's how casual I was about Johnson's outings in those days. Now, I'd be disconnecting the Internet, pulling down the blinds and refusing to answer the phone.</p>
<p>Then he was gone - and, in a awful twist of fate, to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a>, the team he destroyed in <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/world-series">the World Series</a>. It was the baseball equivalent of "Luke, I <u>am</u> your father," if Darth Vader had pushed the cameraman over on his way out of the scene. Ever since then, the quest for a pitching ace has been Ken Kendrick's white whale. Oh, we've come close on occasion: <span>Brandon Webb</span> certainly had his moments, and many of them, but dialing up yet another ground-ball to the infield isn't quite the same as a 97 mph slider generating a Little League swing and sending the shell-shocked hitter back to the dugout. If strikeouts are fascist, they're the <i>cool</i> kind of fascism, with the great fashion sense.</p>
<p>So, when Randy Johnson becomes the first player to enter the Hall of Fame as a Diamondback, my feelings will be a mix of awe and regret. I'll remember the many incredible moments during his time here, documented elsewhere on the 'Pit. But I'm also sorry that, for four years, I treated his appearances as the norm - because, for me, they were all I knew. One start in five came from, arguably, the most blisteringly dominant left-handed pitcher in baseball history. This was just the way it was. That brilliance became routine, and as a result, under-appreciated. Lesson learned. Pay attention to greatness when you get the chance. For who knows when you might see it again?</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/7/25/9039413/randy-johnson-hall-of-fameJim McLennan2015-07-24T15:00:05-04:002015-07-24T15:00:05-04:00Randy Johnson's career and what he means to me
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<p>Randy Johnson enters the Hall of Fame this weekend. I look back at the best player in Diamondbacks history</p> <p>My first vague memory of Randy Johnson was him throwing over John Kruk's head in the 1993 All-Star game.</p>
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<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5OVk3IoDhFQ" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe> <br><br>"Throw at someone? Future Diamondback amirite?" Media people would have said if they had known the Diamondbacks would be a thing or the media narratives dogging them 17 years into their existence.</p>
<p>That moment did establish the initial persona of Randy Johnson in my mind, a very tall, very intense, very scary pitcher who could put the genuine fear of God into you.</p>
<p>I also remember Randy Johnson for his cameo appearance in <i>Little Big League. </i>For those of you who haven't seen that movie, well what's wrong with you, and Randy's appearance consists of him coming in for a relief appearance in the last inning of a playoff game (Bob Brenley definitely saw it and used this tactic to his advantage later.) There's no clip on YouTube, but he came into the game, and a sinister guitar and bass grove (If you had slowed the tempo down of it, you'd probably hear that music in certain more, uh, free-loving parts of the internet), but it still established "woooooo, this guy is kinda scary."</p>
<p>A few years later, in another All-Star Game, Randy pulled similar shenanigans with Larry Walker.</p>
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<p>You might think this is weird, but Larry Walker is from Canada, who gave us Kids in the Hall. Also, the look on Johnson's face is a mix of bemusement and "Who the f*** does this a**h*** think he is?</p>
<p>A year after that, Randy Johnson's career came to a close in Seattle and he was dealt to the playoff-pushing Houston Astros, who didn't make it out of the first round, so there's a lesson there for current trade deadline buyers. He was a free agent after that, and 11-year old me had thoughts that maybe he could be on the Diamondbacks. Wouldn't that be neat? Probably wouldn't happen.</p>
<p>EXCEPT IT TOTALLY DID.</p>
<p>Now, the late-90s were a bit of a spoiled time for young Clefo the sports fan. in 1997, UA won the NCAA Basketball Championship. In 98 and 99, the Broncos won Super Bowls, and so Randy Johnson being signed was cherry on top of what could have become some *very* annoying sports fandoms. Thankfully, all three of those teams have humbled me greatly since then</p>
<p>The Diamondbacks signing Randy was the first step in their "Jerry's going all in, y'all!" strategy to contention, and it helped keep me interested in them as I went through all the growing up and whatnot. (Of course, this strategy turned out to be financially insolvent, but that's a Jim-Hacks argument for another time.) This towering, scary, hard-throwing guy was a force for good, and he showed it throughout his time in Arizona.</p>
<p>The '99 and 2000 teams didn't make it to the promised land, and it kind of felt like it might not ever happen. After all, there is a certain degree of randomness in the MLB playoffs, get hot at the right time and you're great, get cold and you're definitely not, etc. So when the Diamondbacks made the playoffs in 2001, I had tempered expectations. I was also 14 and kids at 14 are weird and stuff. Always have been, always will be. And with the exception of his outing in the NLDS against the Cardinals, RJ was lights out that postseason.</p>
<p>I had mentioned those other teams I liked that won championships, but the 2001 Diamondbacks were definitely the most special to me. I was at the right age to start appreciating it more, it was an intense series, and I reaaaallly got to rub it in the face of this smug-as-hell Yankee fan guy I knew.</p>
<p>I think he recently got married.</p>
<p>But back to Johnson specifically. I know now that his performance out of the bullpen in Game 7 was amazing, but I'll be honest, I don't remember a lot of it. Soriano had hit that home run previously, and everything felt terrible and kinda hazy. Not to get into anything personal, but the time of the 2001 World Series was not a great one for me personally or my family, so stuff like that happening was commonplace for me.</p>
<p>Gonzo's hit brought me out of that daze, and I remember seeing Johnson and Schilling get the MVP award, and I was like "Yes!", as I'm sure we all were.</p>
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<p>Randy Johnson was the greatest Diamondback ever. Whether you want to go by most decorated (All those Cy Young awards), advanced stats (He is well above the next closest player, Luis Gonzalez, in career fWAR, and even moreso above the next closest pitcher, Brandon Webb.), or just pure awe-inspiring greatness (everything.)</p>
<p>The zenith of Randy Johnson's career with the Diamondbacks was, of course, the perfect game against Atlanta in 2004. It was the only bright spot of an incredibly forgettable season, but it may become one of those kind of moments where people remember that and not the situation surrounding it, much like how people might forget that after Carlton Fisk's foul pole homer in the World Series, the Reds ended up winning the next game.</p>
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<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XXCyIKI55IM" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe><br><br>He is also the only person to strike out 20 batters in a game in the Hall of Fame.</p>
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<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kPwfLuT8vhQ" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe> <br><br>Of course, after the 2004 season, Johnson was traded to the Yankees where everything was fine for him, and the Diamondbacks were totally fine.</p>
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<div>Randy Johnson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend, and he will be the first to do so as a member of the Diamondbacks. He might be the only one to do so as a member of the Diamondbacks for a looooooong time (The next possible candidate is maybe Paul Goldschmidt, but he's still really early in his career.) He "only" spent eight seasons of his 21 year career in Phoenix, but they were easily the best of his career. Sorry Mariners, you're gonna get Griffey and Ichiro soon enough.</div>
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<div>And really, part of Johnson's appeal was his intensity and surliness. He had the pure stuff to be an amazing pitcher, sure, but his demeanor amplified it tenfold. I mean, could you imagine Fred Rogers with Randy Johnson's pitching ability be as scary to face on the mound?</div>
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<div>It also made the absurd moments of his career even moreso. Would the infamous bird incident be as well known if some more vanilla pitcher had done it?</div>
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<div>But being able to watch this dominating figure, both in stature and in skill, pitch for those years was something that adolescent me looked forward to every time I could. We as Diamondback fans were incredibly lucky to get his prime years, and everyone as Baseball fans were lucky to see this incredible and rare type of pitcher in his career.</div>
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<div>Congratulations Randy, you deserve it</div>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/7/24/9019711/randy-johnsons-career-and-what-he-means-to-meCharlie Gebow2015-01-16T13:00:04-05:002015-01-16T13:00:04-05:00#51 to be retired by D-backs, August 8
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<figcaption>The first and last time there will be a picture of Mike Robertson on the SnakePit! | Jeff Carlick/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Hot on the heels of the announcement that the Big Unit will enter Cooperstown as a Diamondback, the team announced his number #51 will be retired on August 8 at Chase Field. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dbacks?src=hash">#Dbacks</a> will retire <span>Randy Johnson's</span> No. 51 during a special ceremony at Chase Field on Saturday, Aug. 8. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a> <a href="http://t.co/LSvY1HVPwK">pic.twitter.com/LSvY1HVPwK</a></p>
— <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> (@Dbacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks/status/556129252157190144">January 16, 2015</a>
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There will also be a Randy Johnson bobblehead given away earlier in the season.</p>
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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dbacks?src=hash">#Dbacks</a> will also honor <a href="https://twitter.com/RJ51Photos">@RJ51Photos</a> with a special Hall of Fame Bobblehead on July 25. Nod if you approve. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJ51HOF?src=hash">#RJ51HOF</a> <a href="https://t.co/L8aEoSntrH">https://t.co/L8aEoSntrH</a></p>
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks/status/556137637673959424">January 16, 2015</a>
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Safe to say, the August 8 game, which is against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Cincinnati Reds</a>, becomes the first "must have" ticket of the 2015 season. Randy Johnson's #51 will join Luis Gonzalez's #20 as the only Diamondbacks to have their numbers retired by the organization [there's also Jackie Robinson's 42, naturally] But it also counts as retiring Mike Robertson's number too. Who? Mike Robertson: the only other player in team history to wear #51. He did so in 1998, starting one game as a designated hitter, and coming off the bench for another 10, going 2-for-13. He's a lifetime .190 hitter in 39 major-league games. Wonder if he'll be at Chase on August 8?</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/1/16/7557743/randy-johnson-51-retired-diamondbacks-august-8Jim McLennan2015-01-16T11:26:22-05:002015-01-16T11:26:22-05:00Randy Johnson to enter Hall of Fame as Diamondback
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<figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Randy Johnson will become the first player in Cooperstown to wear a Diamondbacks cap, as the Hall of Fame announced their decision this morning.</p> <p>The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has announced that an Arizona <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> logo will appear on the cap of the Hall of Fame plaque for 2015 Hall of Fame electee <span>Randy Johnson</span>. The cap selections for the remainder of the Hall of Fame Class of 2015 - <span>Craig Biggio</span>, Pedro Martinez and <span>John Smoltz</span> - will be announced on January 22.</p>
<p>The Hall of Fame Class of 2015 will be formally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y., as the centerpiece of a four-day celebration of baseball and their careers as part of Hall of Fame Weekend 2015. Biggio, Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz were elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on January 6.</p>
<p>"After reflecting the last week and conferring with the Hall of Fame, we've come to the decision that the Diamondbacks logo on my Hall of Fame plaque makes the most sense," said Johnson. "I want to express my most sincere thanks to all the teams I played for - Montreal, Seattle, Houston, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> and San Francisco - and particularly all of the fans for supporting me. I'm very humbled by this honor."</p>
<p>Each Hall of Fame plaque will be revealed as the prelude to each electee's induction speech on July 26. The Hall of Fame plaque, which serves to reflect the totality of a career, details an individual's accomplishments in the game in approximately 90 words, while listing each team on which an individual played or managed. An artist rendering of the individual being honored tops the Hall of Fame plaque, and in many instances, a cap, where a logo may or may not featured, is included.</p>
<p>"The Museum staff works with each inductee by suggesting an appropriate logo option, or no logo at all," said Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "For those whose most compelling contributions clearly took place with one team, a logo makes sense. For those whose careers were built significantly among multiple teams, not having a team logo is equally acceptable. Regardless of the selection, a Hall of Famer belongs to every team for which he played or managed, as well as every fan who followed his career."</p>
<p>The four newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame will take their permanent place in Cooperstown on Sunday, July 26, with the ceremony beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT - televised live on MLB Network, highlighting four days of celebratory events and programs for baseball fans of all ages, as part of Hall of Fame Weekend 2015, July 24-27.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/1/16/7556995/randy-johnson-hall-of-fame-diamondbacks-capDiamondbacks Press Release2015-01-10T16:00:02-05:002015-01-10T16:00:02-05:0010 defining moments from RJ's time here, #3-1
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<p>We complete our series honoring new Hall of Fame Member Randy Johnson with the three greatest moments of his time with Arizona.</p> <h5>3. June 3, 2008. Passes Clemens for #2 on the all-time K list.</h5>
<p>When a game has been around for as long as baseball, there aren't many times that a player gets to become #2 on the all-time list for <em>anything</em>. Just look at those who currently occupy that spot in various counting stats. Ty Cobb (hits), Hank Aaron (HR), Babe Ruth (RBI), Walter Johnson (Wins). That's some elite company. And, on a Tuesday night in Milwaukee, <span>Randy Johnson</span> joined them, striking out <span>Mike Cameron</span> to pass <span>Roger Clemens</span> and take sole possession of second place on the career strikeout list. He'll be there for a while: no active pitcher has even half as many as RJ's 4,875 [C.C. Sabathia leads the way with 2,437].</p>
<p>But it's worth remember this almost didn't happen. Johnson began that spring on his second recovery from back surgery for a herniated disk, and was aware he was approaching the end. He <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/news/story?id=3249539">told reporters</a>, "I don't care to go through another surgery again, and rehab," saying that if it happened again it was "99.9%" that he would retire. He added, "According to a lot of the experts out there, I probably shouldn't even be playing the game anymore and shouldn't have been playing it about three or four years ago." Fortunately for us, he proved them wrong, and reached another landmark, strengthening his case for being, arguably, the most dominant left-handed pitcher of all time.</p>
<h5>2. May 18, 2004. Perfect game vs. Atlanta in 2004.</h5>
<p>The 2004 season sucked. You know how bad this year was? This season's <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> would have finished <em>thirteen games ahead</em> of that 2004 version. But in the midst of this suckage for the ages, churned out on an everyday basis, was the greatest pitching performance in the history of the franchise. We'd never even had a no-hitter to that point, the closest being a one-hitter, thrown by <span>Curt Schilling</span> against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a> in April 2002. But Johnson took care of that, and then some, becoming the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game, doing so at the age of 40, and beating a century-old record belonging to the immortal Cy Young, who was "only" 37 when he threw one.</p>
<p>It was truly dominating. Only one batter even reached a three-ball count, and with almost half the outs (13) coming by the K, the defense could largely sit back and watch. The nearest thing to a hit was on opposing pitcher Mike Hampton's squibber back up the middle in the sixth, which required a running grab by <span>Alex Cintron</span> to get Hampton by a step, Otherwise, as one of the rarest events in the sport goes, it was pretty low-key. Before the end, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a>' crowd had given up, even with their team only two runs down, and were cheering for the Big Unit to complete the feat. With another swinging K, he obliged, and catcher Robbie Hammock did his best Easter Bunny impression.</p>
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<h5>1. November 4, 2001. Winning Game 7 in the 2001 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a> </h5>
<p>When the media was fawning all over <span>Madison Bumgarner</span> last year, you might have been forgiven for hearing a derisive snort coming out of a certain photo studio: "<strong>Two</strong> days' rest? Wuss." For this story started the night before Game 7, as Johnson started Game 6, winning it and pitching seven innings, even though the Diamondbacks were 15-0 up after four. He left, having thrown 104 pitches, also getting a hit, an RBI and scoring twice. Many would have been happy to take the next night off. But it was absolutely no surprise when, with two outs in the eighth inning, the bullpen gate opened and Johnson trotted in to relieve <span>Miguel Batista</span>, for his second relief appearance as a D-back.</p>
<p>I still get goosebumps thinking about that moment. What sticks in my mind, thirteen years later, is that even though Arizona was 2-1 down, I suddenly knew we were going to win. Which is odd, because <span>Mariano Rivera</span> was warming up, and over the previous four post-seasons, he had converted 23 consecutive save opportunities, allowing <u>one</u> run over those 35 innings. He was as close to a sure thing as existed in the observable universe. But even after he struck out three batters in the eighth, it didn't matter. We had Johnson, and there was no way we could possibly lose this. The Big Unit retired all four <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> he faced, and then came the bottom of the ninth...</p>
<p>We can take that fight-back as read, since no mere paragraph of description can possibly do it justice. But it made a winner of Randy Johnson, who finished the 2001 World Series with this line:<br><strong>Johnson: 17.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 19 K, 1.04 ERA, 3-0 record.</strong><br>Thanks to Bumgarner's victory in this season's Game 7 being changed to a save, Johnson remains the only pitcher since Mickey Lolich in 1968 to have won three times in the same World Series. It couldn't be more fitting that the greatest pitcher in Diamondbacks history won the greatest game, I venture in any sport, every played in this state.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2015/1/10/7525323/10-defining-moments-from-randy-johnsons-time-here-3-1Jim McLennan