Big news from the Big Unit: 46-year-old Randy Johnson announced his retirement, concluding his career with a record of 303-166, a 3.29 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. His five Cy Young Awards – one with the Mariners and four in a row with the Diamondbacks – rank him behind only Roger Clemens, and his 4,875 career strikeouts are second only to Nolan Ryan. He was a 10-time All-Star, starting the Midsummer Classic four times – twice for each league. Johnson made history in 2004 when he became the oldest player – at 40 – to throw a perfect game.
Johnson was a crucial member of his Diamondbacks team in the 2001 playoffs: after pitching well but losing his only start in the first round, he went 2-0 with 1.12 E.R.A. in the National League Championship Series against the Braves, including a 2-0 complete game shutout against Greg Maddux. Then in the World Series, Johnson shut down the three-time defending champions from the Bronx with absolute dominance. He picked up three wins, including a complete game shutout in Game 1 and back-to-back victories in Games 6 and 7, to end the Yankee Dynasty. He surrendered only nine hits and three walks in 17.1 innings for a remarkable 0.692 WHIP to go along with a 1.04 E.R.A. For his extraordinary performance, he was named co-MVP of the Series. A fan attraction everywhere he went, Randy Johnson will surely be missed.
How ‘bout that?
How about Matt Holliday? Christmas came late for the biggest name on the free agent market this offseason, as Holliday was rewarded for his huge numbers (.353/.419/.604) after his arrival in St. Louis with a very big payday – $120 million over the next seven years. Though it was painful to watch as it happened, Holliday has been forgiven for his costly error in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. The slugging outfielder hopes to lead his team back to the playoffs in 2010, and with Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright working together, expectations will be high once again for the Cardinals.
How about Eric Hinske? He hasn’t had 500 at-bats in a season since 2005 with the Blue Jays, but Hinske has found his way to each of the last three World Series, winning in 2007 with the Red Sox and 2009 with the Yankees, and losing in 2008 with the Rays. Perhaps the Braves were thinking that Hinske is some kind of good-luck charm when they signed him to a one-year, $1 million contract this week, but if the pattern holds true for a fourth season, Atlanta will be on the losing end of the Fall Classic. If they do make it, however, Hinske could garner significantly more interest from teams a year from now.
How about this month’s Hall of Fame election results? I was surprised to see Roberto Alomar fall a few votes shy in his first year of eligibility, especially since Andre Dawson was elected. Dawson had some fine seasons, but his career O.P.S. was just .806 – below average for a power-hitting outfielder; Al Kaline’s was .855 and he only hit 399 homers – nearly 40 fewer than Dawson. Additionally, Dawson hit a lousy .186 in three playoff series, and his only offensive numbers that are particularly impressive are his 438 home runs and 314 stolen bases. He was an excellent defensive player; his eight gold gloves leave him behind only Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente (each with 12) and Al Kaline, Andruw Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. (10 each) among outfielders. (Other outfielders with eight Gold Gloves are Jim Edmonds, Paul Blair, Dwight Evans, Garry Maddox, and Barry Bonds.) Alomar, however, captured 10 Gold Gloves and had better overall offensive numbers (batting average – .300 to .279, runs – 1,508 to 1,373, and stolen bases – 474 to 314) despite playing a more defensive-minded position. Not having watched The Hawk in his prime, I may be a bit biased, but all in all, Alomar’s stats put him in a class of ballplayer high above that of Andre Dawson. Roberto Alomar will almost certainly gain election to The Hall next year, but in my view, if the writers wanted to send just one player from this year’s class to Cooperstown, they chose the wrong one.
Big Mac admits steroid use
I was sorry to hear the news about Mark McGwire’s steroid admission earlier this week, not because I didn’t think he had used performance-enhancing-drugs but because I did not want to think it. I truly believed McGwire could have hit 70 homers without steroids because he had such tremendous power all by himself; he hit 49 home runs as a rookie in 1987 before the steroid era and before he claims he first used (during the 1989/1990 offseason). As baseball fans, none of us wants to learn that each record we have seen broken in our lifetime is tainted. We want to see ballplayers at their best, but if we’re just going to be let down later on, we’d rather not be amazed in the first place.
Keywords: Al Kaline, Andre Dawson, Andruw Jones, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Barry Bonds, Boston Red Sox, Cooperstown, Cy Young, Dwight Evans, Eric Hinske, Garry Maddox, Greg Maddux, Hall of Fame, Jim Edmonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Matt Holliday, New York Yankees, Nolan Ryan, Paul Blair, Randy Johnson, retirement, Roberto Alomar, Roberto Clemente, Roger Clemens, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, steroids, Tampa Bay Rays, The Big Unit, The Hawk, Toronto Blue Jays, Willie Mays, Yankee Dynasty
