Randy Johnson gets number retired by Diamondbacks

On Saturday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks retired the number of perhaps the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time in Randy Johnson. Johnson’s 51 will never be worn again in the desert, a fitting reward to a player who helped deliver the franchise’s only World Series title in 2001. Johnson was terrific that year, even making a relief appearance in Game 7 of the Fall Classic to earn the deciding victory.

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Johnson began his career as a flamethrower for the Montreal Expos. He broke into Major League Baseball back in 1988 and was traded to the Seattle Mariners in the middle of 1989 as nothing more than a throwaway talent. Johnson was nothing special throughout his first three years in the Great Northwest, posting a 39-35 record with ERAs of almost 4.00.

However, the man known as the Big Unit would mature into one of the greatest talents the game has ever known. Johnson pitched with the Mariners until the trading deadline of 1998, when he was shipped to the Houston Astros for the playoff push. In Seattle, Johnson had a tremendous year in 1997, going 20-4 with a 2.28 ERA.

Yet, when he signed with the Diamondbacks in 1999, his career went to an entirely different level. Johnson went 81-27 over his first four seasons in Arizona, including the championship campaign of 2001. His lowest strikeout total during that time was 334, and his highest ERA was 2.64.

After 2004, Johnson left the desert to join the New York Yankees for two seasons, where his career really started to hit the final chapter. Johnson would go back to the Diamondbacks for 2007 and 2008 before leaving to join the San Francisco Giants in 2009, where he won his 300th game.

Johnson finished with a career record of 303-166 and had an ERA of 3.29 with a 1.17 WHIP.