Old grouch wins 300th game
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 04, 2009 
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Randy Johnson won his 300th game today. He must have received at least one or two text messages from his good friends around the league.
Johnson is a strange guy beyond that fact that he is 6-foot-11, left-handed and looks a roadie for Motley Crue.
Two stories:
• During Johnny Damon first season with the Yankees, there was a big game on a particular day and Johnson was pitching. Before the team went out to the field, Damon stood in the middle of the clubhouse and said something along the lines of, “Let’s go get ‘em, boys!” and Johnson promptly told Johnny in particularly obscene language to sit down and shut up.
Nobody knew what to say. Then again, nobody knew what to say to Johnson during his two years in New York. He barely spoke to his catchers. Even nicest guy in the world John Flaherty had words with him.
• When I started covering the Yankees in 2006, I made it a point to introduce myself in spring training to the players I didn’t previously know. I had heard Johnson was an ogre, but when I walked up, he thanked me for coming over, wished me well and said he would see me around.
I was impressed, figuring what I had heard about the Big Unit was all wrong. So the next day I approached Johnson to ask him some questions about Phil Hughes, about whom I was writing a feature story on. Who better to ask about pitching than a future Hall of Famer?
“Excuse me, Randy,” I said. “Can I ask you a question about Phil Hughes?”
Johnson looked down, made a face and said, “Hughes? What the $%&# do I know about Hughes?” Then he walked away. So much for us being pals.
But say this for Johnson: He was a young pitcher without much control who became one of the best of his generation. He may not have been the friendliest guy in baseball, but he could well be the last 300-game winner we ever see.
So good for him.
Tim Brown from Yahoo! Sports wrote a good piece on Johnson earlier this week.
“lmao…. Nick, say hobos it’s easier. ”
‘drifter, gypsy, wayfarer- also work.’
I’d prefer to avoid ‘gypsy’, it makes me think of Stevie Nicks doing her Sufu dance.
I’m not 100% sure why the word in question is banned, but I think it’s because it’s spelled like a variation on the name of the Redsock captain. Oops, he’s a Big C Captain.
Mulva?
Very funny, Pete.
I wish the Moose had stuck around to try for 300.
Would CC be the first 300 pounder to get to 300 wins?
How many wins did President Taft have?
“Mulva?”
That’s my guess, too. lol
No disrespect to Johnson who is great but is anyone else glad that our clubhouse now consists of a group of guys who are generally happy to be around each other, armed with whipped cream pies?
Haha.
Chemistry is overrated. We’re talented, that’s what counts.
*Sufi* not Sufu
Mulva… lol
Even the great Bruce used that word. (courtesy of Dylan)
The Va-Ga-Bond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.
Would CC be the first 300 pounder to get to 300 wins?
================================
Moose wasn’t the happiest guy in the clubhouse. At least he was interesting to talk to.
RJ? Without question, one of the most miserable guys I’ve ever talked to in that clubhouse.
I really have to go back in my memory bank to find a guy who had less fun playing the game.
Maybe it was because his back was never right in his time in NY. Or, perhaps it was because he hated playing in NY.
Either way, the guy was just a miserable human being.
I tip my cap to him for winning 300 games. That is an amazing accomplishment.
That said, I’m not unhappy he’s not in NY anymore. There hasn’t been a day I’ve missed that guy being on the team.
“Mulva”
Dolores!
LOL Oscar the Grouch is adorable……..I’ve always liked him (and he’s friendlier than Randy, apparently).
Congrats to Randy – but he’s a jerk.
See two reasons why I am not happy for him.
I recall hearing the story with Johnny after it happened. Johnny was probably thrilled when he heard Randy was traded. Must be even happier how that he is allowed to do things like that in the locker room, and players will now join in, instead of telling him to sit the *&(*&(* down and shut up.
About Randy Johnson – he should be congratulated. And, as far as his sparkling personality, well, he’s better than Ty Cobb.
Somebody commented (in the previous post) about our CF. Well, Melky seems to have gotten the message. And as for Brett Gardner – I remember people saying in ST that if he hit .270 with an OBP of about .340-350, the Yankees would be happy. Well, isn’t that what he’s done? Yeah, he’s made some mistakes recently, but he’s basically done what he can.
So, maybe Cash was on to soemthing when he said that he was comfortable with Brett and Melky holding down CF. (Maybe it was randy I….)
Gipple?
I watched RJ’s press conference on MLB.com and he said that when he threw his first no-hitter, his dad asked him why he walked seven guys in the game. Surly probably runs in the family.
Obviously talent trumps all………but, assuming the talent is there (which it usually is for the Yankees), I’d much rather root for a team whose players actually care about and support each other. It’s not just all about the pies and the wrestling belt – it goes deeper than that. Swish supporting X by making the X sign with his arms, showing that the team had not forgotten their injured comrade……AJ taking the time to learn Chinese to communicate with Wang (and recently spending time in the OF discussing mechanics)……Those are just two examples.
I knew there was a reason to like Randy Johnson.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....896.column
Everyone is chill
Pete, I love ya. But probably not the nicest thing in the world to tell grouch stories when the guy just won #300. Should have taken the high road.
SJ44, you’ve talked to guys in the clubhouse?
That I did not know.
From the previous thread, you guys do realize that last year’s AL EAST was one of the best divisions ever, right?
congrats to the grump
Mr. November
June 4th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
CF has become one of this team’s biggest strengths.
————————————————————
Other than the Yankee closer, catcher, rotation, 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, SS, LF and DH, I’ll agree with that.
Swingsandmisses, lol…..probably so. I know AJ really wants another one so that he can wipe out the memories of his only no-hitter, which he constantly calls an embarrassment. 9 walks? I would also kill to see the blooper of him throwing a ball at a moving van while warming up in 2001 for a game…..I believe he asked the Yankees to reinstate that blooper in their blooper reel (they removed it when he signed).
SJ, thanks for your response re: Dodgers. I know people comnplain about being in such a tough division (well, not complain – sort of bemoaning the fact), but in a way, I like it. I don’t want the Yankees to be considered the best of a poor lot and I like the idea that the East produces high quality baseball. Of course, if they miss the playoffs by a game, I’d be pretty peeved……..but the Giants did just that in 1993, winning 103 games and losing the division to the Braves.
SJ,
Thanks for the comments in the end of the last thread. I love hearing about your nephew and the draft process.
And on the Yankees I agree with you – how can you not love this team?
Betsy, I get the idea that you want to root for them, but I just don’t think it effects wins and losses at all.
Joe From L.I.: saw your post from the previous thread, congrats on the anniversary and seeing a Yankee win.
I guess you didn’t meet up with Jeff NJ to talk about Wang’s proper role on the team? They probably don’t serve crow in the Audi Club.
Neiman(I think thats how its spelled) got pied by Matt Garza yesterday. Its on the front page paper. What is this pie-in-the-face thing in now?
GreenBeret7, I’m talking depth wise. Melky and Gardner have both been playing well. Third base was pretty bad. SS? Pena’s cooled off as expected. Same with Cervelli catching. DH? All we have is Matsui. LF? Only Damon. I’ll give you rotation and closer, but that’s it. ONE OF our biggest strengths.
Just shows our team is overall strong.
Pete an idea, SJ44 has already said the he would explain the drafting process after it is over. How about a guest spot. A lot of us are very interested to hear about it.
S.A…….I don’t think AJ is chill on his pitching days. I’ll bet he doesn’t want to talk to anyone, lol…he sounded intense just in those quotes.
LOL at Joba and how he was treated as a china doll
Nick – love your sense of humor….
Joba is very important to the club, very important… must be treated well…
Mr. November, I root for the Yankees no matter what. For the record, regardless of the seasons’ results, I think the Yankees have mostly been made up of good guys.
Chamberlain said his teammates no longer walk on eggshells on the days he starts.
“They know you don’t have to stay away from me,” Chamberlain said. “It’s not like I’m going to punch you or nothing.”
Chamberlain was never a teammate of Johnson’s, and he was asked if he had heard stories about steering clear of the lefthander on days when he pitched.
“Yeah, of course,” he said with a smile. “I heard you definitely didn’t even look at him.”
“Old grouch wins 300th game”
I saw that title and immediately thought GB has been kicking the old folks butt at dominoes again.
Betsy, I’m not sure the 77 and 78 Yanks were made up of Saints.
Yikes, Jose Reyes has a tear in his hamstring tendon.
Heal the core
Mets are dropping like flies. Or swines.
DT – OPPC member (it’s in our blood)
June 4th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
“Old grouch wins 300th game”
I saw that title and immediately thought GB has been kicking the old folks butt at dominoes again.
————————————————————
I don’t play no stinkin’ dominoes, you @$#^&%#!.
That’s for old &^%$@$^ geezers.
Mr. November, lol -I’d say they weren’t. I didn’t meant to imply that I only root for teams full of good guys….That said, I’d still prefer that my team not be full of assorted grouches.
lol @ The Johnny Damon Story.
So Betsy, not a fan of the Big Unit?
“Yikes, Jose Reyes has a tear in his hamstring tendon. ”
——–
reportedly. Has it been confirmed?
Huge loss for the Mets if it is.
“I don’t play no stinkin’ dominoes, you @$#^&%#!.”
Don’t try to spell out @$#^&%#!, just use hobo.
“So Betsy, not a fan of the Big Unit?”
———–
He may have been a jerk… but as far as I could see, he went 110% every time out.
I’d rather have a guy who gives his all than a good character guy who doesn’t.
It would be nice if everyone was Derek Jeter but if you have to choose, give me the guy who has the most talent and also goes all out.
Boston Dave-
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes has a small tear in his right hamstring, will rest for two days and then resume treatment, according to a statement released by the New York Mets.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
DT – OPPC member (it’s in our blood)
June 4th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
“I don’t play no stinkin’ dominoes, you @$#^&%#!.”
Don’t try to spell out @$#^&%#!, just use hobo.
————————————————————
Ahhhh…so you’re predjudiced against the housing challenged, huh?
Probably was not PC, but, I don’t figure that they’ll be reading this.
As long as Fleetwood Mac doesn’t have any hobo songs, I’m ok with that.
Boston, I agree with that comment.
“as far as I could see, he went 110% every time out.”
That’s like 7’5″ of pitcher!
Nick in SF
June 4th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
As long as Fleetwood Mac doesn’t have any hobo songs, I’m ok with that.
————————————————————
You’ll need Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott for those songs.
Boston Dave (in Fargo, ND) – OPPC member June 4th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
“Yikes, Jose Reyes has a tear in his hamstring tendon. ”
————
reportedly. Has it been confirmed?
Huge loss for the Mets if it is.
=======================
Heyman twitter:
“jose reyes has a tear in his hamstring tendon. the mets are saying the tear is small. the injury, obviously, is big”
http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman
“Ahhhh…so you’re predjudiced against the housing challenged, huh?”
Wow. Now I know how Nick feels.
5 more holes and I can play nine.
BD, no one would disagree with that. There’s nothing worse than an athlete who doesn’t give his all – fortunately, there are very few like that. I was just saying that Randy is a jerk – that’s a fact. It doesn’t imply that I thought he gave less than his best effort.
Like I said yesterday about him…well I won’t repeat it. Anyway, you took more of a high road than I was willing to give him, Pete. He was one helluva pitcher in his day and he does seem to have a sense of humour with the Lincecum commercial and that old deodorant commercial of him beaning people. I never liked him from the first day in NY when he face palmed that camera. What a jerk
Austin Jackson is 1-2 in Game #2, with an RBI triple to tie the game at 1-1 in the 3rd inning. Also has another strikeout.
Randy may not be a nice guy and he had his issues as a Yankee but the team wouldn’t have won the division without him in 2005. He was great against the Red Sox. And while he was hurting in 2006, he still pitched and held his own. I don’t miss him either, but don’t think he was an uttr failure with the Yanks.
Congrats to Randy on his 300th.
You may think him a jerk but the man obviously knows how to help win a baseball game.
The Yankees have had many guys over the years who were jerks- some are even still working for the organization in an advisory capacity and treated like royalty now
.
If they help you win, it makes the jerkiness more palatable to the fans; clubhouse treatment of teammates and media be damned.
pat: so you’re saying you would have eaten a Randy Bar???
“I never liked him from the first day in NY when he face palmed that camera. What a jerk”
Yeah.. NY Sports Media are always innocent.
I never faulted him for that.. I faulted him for apologizing to that guy.
Congrats to him though. I don’t think it’s going to happen unless he does another year but it would be cool to see him get to 5,000 K’s too.
Very true pat. But, alas I am a Yankees fan. If you are on my team I will pull for you as much as anybody. Once you leave, if you’re a jerk, I could care less what you achieve. Not that he needs my acknowledgement. He’s just not getting it.
CC would need to average 18 wins/yr for 10 yrs to reach 300 wins. Possible, but not very likely considering he has one season w/over 18 wins in his career (in 2007, when he won 19).
Melancon’s off to a bad start, tonight. Comes in with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out.
Hits a batter with a 1-2 pitch and walks in a run on a full count pitch. Score goes from 2-1 score to a 3-1 score.
Allows a stolen base.
Next batter hits sac fly to the track in center, two runners advance. Two inherited runners score.
Two run single. Not what he was brought in to do in a 7 inning game.
Strikeout.
Groundout.
1 inning, 1 hit, 2 runs scored, 2 runs earned, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 1 Hit batter. 2 inherited runs allowed.
Yankeejosh, if the goal of the yanks was to win the division we would still have Torre as a manager.
Nick
Depends.
A Reggie Bar is chocolate, peanuts and caramel.
A Moose Bar is chocolate and peanut butter.
What’s in a Randy Bar?
That pock-faced, mullet-haired sourpuss has a teenage daughter, by a woman with whom he had a years long relationship, who he’s refused to ever meet. A couple of years ago he sued the mother (for less than a hundred grand) over some child support technicality.
He’s maybe the biggest a-hole to ever wear Pinstripes, and that’s saying something.
Most people feel 300 wins might not ever be obtained with pitchers going 6 innings now. It is quite an accomplishment. Averaging 20 wins for 15 years is crazy
How can anyone not be happy for Randy Johnson? That’s a great achievement and he tried his best for us.
As for the booing. It may make you a good fan. But it’s not very classy. I don’t think classy people show their displeasure with a product in such a manner.
m, was he booed after the win?
Pete that’s a great pic of Randy, did you take that with your iPhone?
GB, better in AAA than in the Bronx. That still stinks though, hopefully he can get his confidence back. He seemed to really attack hitters earlier in the year but once he got hit in the bigs he started nibbling
i bet all his friends from the Yankees sent him a bunch of texts!
RJ really stuck it to us in 2001, and never lived up to the hype when he came over from the Dbacks. He will forever be in the company of Ed Whitson, Doyle Alexander, and Kevin Brown.
I wonder if he got a text from Joe Torre?
tim- I bet not one Yankee sent him a text. They hated him.
Even Mussina said Randy was a miserable person.
Lincecum next 300 winner? According to SI it looks possible if he has a winning team
Tim Brown on Yahoo! had a good article on Johnson. The quote of Johnson’s former teammate Dan Haren stood out to me. Haren said that he wished he could have gotten to know the Big Unit.
To me, that says it all.
If Felix Hernandez could stay healthy and land on a team with a decent offense, he is at a pretty good pace for 300 wins.
He has more than forty wins and he is only 23 years old.
DB,
I don’t know. The booing comment was for the booing debate that’s been going on today.
DB,
Well Torre did lose that last division in 2007.
The Yankees didn’t lose in 2005 because of Randy Johnson though. He pitched the team into the plaoffs. And deserves credit for that.
I would hope everyone in baseball, Yankee teammate or not, would text Johnson their congratulations.
His accomplishment shouldn’t be diminished because of his demeanor.
For those writing off CC, consider that Wells (with a similar, if not worse body type) won 192 games starting with his age-30 season. It’s doable.
I can’t stand Randy Johnson, but if it brings Oscar the Grouch to the blog I am all for it.
And Nick in SF- there will be no knocking Stevie Nicks when my back is turned
Nick in SF
June 4th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
As long as Fleetwood Mac doesn’t have any hobo songs, I’m ok with that.
**
They don’t. I am sure of it
Is it wrong that I don’t wish this dirtbag well at all, or feel any desire to extend any congratulations whatsoever towards him?
Guess I’m an ogre too, heh. Also a huge Moose fan and I won’t lie, this pains my soul a little bit. It should be him dammit!
On another note, I don’t know where to dig up this quote, but didn’t Giambi come out with some sort of zinger after Johnson was traded along the lines of ‘we won the old man some games but he didn’t pitch too well here’ (understatement of the year)….man I hope some writer busts those quotes out again now. As far as I’m concerned, Johnson the stat ho owes Giambi and several others some expensive bottles of champagne for helping him reach this milestone.
Lastly, Johnson should be embarrassed for sticking around this long, this much past his prime, and pitching shoddily for so many years just for these personal stats. What is his ERA now, 6? LOL. The guy’s a joke for at least 5 years running.
“man I hope some writer busts those quotes out again now.”
Tyler Kepner beat me to it:
“I’ve always felt the noted wordsmith Jason Giambi summed up Johnson’s New York legacy best with four true statements, delivered in spring training 2007:
“He was a great player. He’s an older player. He gave us everything he could. And we won him a ton of ballgames.””
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....o-win-300/
Giambi’s words weren’t as caustic as my selective memory would have had you believe, haha, but his point was well-made nonetheless.
“The guy’s a joke for at least 5 years running.”
Was he a joke when he posted a 3.79 ERA in 225 innings, his first year in the Bronx? Was he a joke last year when, despite missing time with an injury, he had a 3.91 in 184 innings? Obviously, he wasn’t the GLM that took Arizona by storm at the beginning of the decade, but he’s still been a pretty damn decent pitcher. Even this year, his ERA spike has been a combination of increased walk rate, poor defense, a HR/FB ratio that’s double what he put up last year and luck. Only one of those things is his fault.
Johnson’s not what he used to be and was one of the pitchers who didn’t need to win 300 to get into the hall of fame. Makes me think of Moose. Ultimately I don’t think the voters will put him in the Hall but would Mike Mussiana really have had better career if he went 10 and 10 for the next 3 years which on the low estimate would seem easy for him or turn chicken like Johnson and run away from the al east to the nl east. He pick up 30 easy that way.
oops NL West
Who cares if he was grumpy, some people don’t need to be all jolly like Johnny Damon, but that doesn’t mean he is a grouchy, terrible person. The interview I read today with Jim Caple on ESPN was entertaining and I thought it was hilarious that he was so proud of his mullet in an earlier interview with somebody. Long story short, I loved having Randy in pinstripes and wish Steinbrenner would have got him earlier when he had the chance. I enjoy going over to SF and watching the huge man pitch in a Giants uniform now, even though he has gotten older. He is one of the few pitchers in baseball that I truly enjoy seeing pitch because of his seriousness for the game, he didn’t care who he pitched for, as long as he was still in the game. I will always consider him as one of the best pitchers in the game, and possibly one of my favorite players of all time.
Would you want me asking you about a writer you barely know anything about? He’s a baseball player, not the President, nor an Angel. If that’s how he said, then that was rude, but you have to know someone a little better than that to write the things you did describing his personality.
LOL! He looks like an ass, but I didn’t know he was one, too. What a jerk.
congrats to Randy
i give him credit for asking to be traded away from our team. he couldn’t handle NY, and dealt with it accordingly…
CC is playing for a better team right now, so he should win more games a year. Consider how deep he goes into games, and he will get as many decisions as anyone besides Halladay, who strikes me as the next 300 game winning candidate. 52 wins in the last three years and 9 already this one, so say 12 more this year, and average between 16/17 a year for nine more years. It’s just a matter of will and opportunity. This “last time someone wins 300 games” stuff is BS. If you add the phrase “next 10 years” maybe, if Halladay or CC go down, but there are always guys who want to pitch as long as they can, all they need to do is get some sucker to pay them in their 40s and market their milestone. Mussina could easily have done it if that’s what he was about. If Johan Santana stays healthy, and wants to pitch in his 40′s, why not?
Hey, I saw Randy smile one time. He was pitching to Kruk (or a Kruk shaped batter) and threw one of those fast balls over his head. The batter ducked like a poor little leaguer and then suddenly became embarrased at his reaction. Randy actually smiled at him. He did. Honest.