Johnson’s 300th brings an emotional release
WASHINGTON — The emotions finally flowed for Randy Johnson when the final out was made.
A hug for his son, who was serving as batboy. Hugs for every teammate, plus a really big one for his manager. The game ball presented to his wife as his three daughters beamed with pride. A news conference that lasted a half-hour from a player who usually doesn’t have much to say. Someone even spotted a smile.
The Big Unit admits he can come across as surly, and he did his best over the past few weeks to downplay his pursuit of 300 wins. Once he got there — with a steady, six-inning performance in the San Francisco Giants’ 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Thursday —he was free to express that, yes, it really is a big deal.
“I think it kind of hit me when I walked on the field,” Johnson said. “It’s a long-range achievement. It’s not a one-game or a one-year achievement, it’s a career achievement. Who knows how many teammates I’ve had over my 21 years, but they had a great deal to do with my success. I’m going to think about this for a long time.”
Johnson became the 24th pitcher to reach the milestone, and he did it as a mature pitcher, not the overpowering tangle of arms and legs who was all about strikeouts early in his career. He walked two, struck out two, allowed only an unearned run and threw 50 of his 78 pitches for strikes. He faced four batters above the minimum and got shutout relief from his bullpen.
“I get more gratification out of that because of the way I’m doing it now than the way I did it 10 years ago,” Johnson said.
It was hardly the ideal setting for a historic moment. The crowd was small and the weather was wet. Some of the few thousand fans who witnessed the feat — the Nationals have trouble drawing a crowd for anything these days — chanted “Randy! Randy!” in the bottom of the ninth, and he tipped his hat to them all.
Family and friends from all over flew in for the occasion to see Johnson (5-4) become the first pitcher to get 300 on his first try since Tom Seaver in 1985.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments