Charlie Klein
Milestones in baseball history usually induce large crowds at the stadium and yet for Randy Johnson's 300th career win the saddest part was that no one was there to witness it. A crowd of less than 20,000 watched Johnson record his 300th win last night at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Johnson has joined the company of men like Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Greg Maddux, and Nolan Ryan in baseball's record books becoming the 24th man in history to record 300 wins in his career.
Johnson's 300th win bore little in resemblance to what the baseball world is accustomed from him. He pitched six strong innings but only struck out two. Pitching against the worst team in baseball, it could also be said that this win may have been the easiest in Johnson's career. The game remained close. Johnson's wife, Lisa, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "It was a little scary for a while. I liked having those extra few runs." The Giants anemic offense was only able to provide two runs until the top of the ninth. Randy Winn hit a two run-double and Sandoval plated Winn on a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 5-1 lead.
Johnson's 300th win is just another notch in the belt for a man who has won a World Series, a World Series MVP Award, five Cy Young awards, which he won four times consecutively, he is a ten-time All-Star, has thrown both a perfect game and a no-hitter, and has 4,845 career strikeouts. He also made a bird disappear. Johnson remarked to the San Francisco Chronicle, "It sounds funny, but I've played 21, 22 years. I'm 45 and I've come upon 300 wins and I'm thinking, 'I only have 211 more to catch Cy Young.' "
Johnson has played historic roles for two franchise who never had much history to begin with. Randy joined the Seattle Mariners in 1989 after being traded by the Montreal Expos for Mark Langston. Johnson's signature moment for the Seattle outfit came in 1995 when he pitched a three hitter against Langston in a one game playoff that sent the Mariners to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Johnson, along with names like Ken Griffey Junior and Edgar Martinez, is credited with saving baseball in Seattle. Johnson was traded in 1998 to the Houston Astros, where he spent the remainder of the season. Upon entering free agency in 1999, Johnson decided that he wanted to sign for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He and Schilling combined in 2001 to give the Diamondbacks their first World Series, defeating the Yankees in a titannic seven game series in which Johnson won three games and pitched in relief during Game 7. His performances earned him the honour of World Series MVP.
It is a wonder how long the Big Unit, who is now 45 years of age, will be able to maintain his Hall of Fame baseball career. The only person who knows that is Randy. 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." Whatever happens Randy, there'll always be a place for you in my memories.
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