His mechanics were still out of whack. Ryan suggested that Johnson make a few adjustments to his delivery, and on Sept. 27 Johnson faced Ryan in a game at Arlington Stadium. Randy Johnson holding Hall Of Fame Plaque National Baseball Hall of Fame signage with Randy Johnson's records on back.
Two years earlier, Johnson threw a no-hitter for the Mariners, a game in which he walked six batters, and he remembers excitedly calling his parents after the game.And though they were fresh off a 97-loss inaugural season, the Diamondbacks went about courting Johnson, who already was making his off-season home in the Valley.Though he had bad knees, Bud Johnson would squat down and catch his son. He made his major league debut on September 15, 1988, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, earning a 9–4 victory with a five-inning outing in which he gave up two runs with five strikeouts; his first victim was Orestes Destradein the second inning. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners the following year in a deal for Mark Langston, a veteran pitcher the Expos hoped would help put them over the top.After being drafted by the Montreal Expos in the second round in 1985, Johnson became a project for every pitching coach who inherited him. His dad’s death made him realize he needed to rededicate himself to being great.There was progress in Johnson’s first five years in the big leagues, but nothing that would suggest what was to come. By the time Johnson made it to the hospital, his father had died.Left-handed hitters would lunge at the pitch as it broke away from them, often darting well out of the strike zone. “‘When you’re done, pound all the nails back in.’ The nails would be loosened up and coming out.”“They had already heard about the results,” Johnson said. Nolan Ryan and the Texas Rangers were in Seattle for a series at the Kingdome, and after Johnson threw a side session before a game, he and Ryan talked pitching.“The combination of the two things,” Johnson said, “kind of transformed me. (Rob Tringali/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Share this image:
Instead of wild stretches lasting for eight to 10 pitches at a time, Johnson would cut it down to six pitches, then four, before being able to get himself back online.When Johnson reached free agency after the 1998 season, he had established himself as one of the game’s more dominant pitchers and was coming off an incredible two-month run as a rental for the Houston Astros, for whom he registered a 1.28 ERA in 11 starts.But right-handed hitters could sometimes look even sillier.
Of the sixteen eligible members of the 3,000 strikeout club, fourteen have been elected to the Hall.
All Rights Reserved.He spent more time in Seattle, but was obviously much more dominant in Arizona. But at 35 years old, some thought Johnson’s best days were behind him.“I told Randy he could be the most dominating pitcher in baseball if he would just work on his game,” Ryan said in 1992. He led the league in walks in three consecutive seasons.
His velocity was really high, but it felt like there was a short time in which you could see the ball.