Randy Johnson’s Hall of Fame career included at least one unlucky bird
Jan 6, 2015, 9:04 PM | Updated: 9:06 pm
Apparently one of the moments people remember most from Randy Johnson’s time with the Arizona Diamondbacks was a bird’s last.
Don’t believe us? Check out the latest poll on ArizonaSports.com or the top comment on this story. And if that’s not enough, go to YouTube and in the search bar type “Randy Johnson” and see what option comes up first.
It happened during Spring Training prior to the 2001 season. On March 24, in a game against the San Francisco Giants, the Big Unit fired a pitch toward home plate. A bird happened to be passing through at the exact same time and, well, you know.
Next thing we knew a cloud of feathers appeared, with the ball bouncing to the backstop while what was left of the bird flopped to the ground.
Johnson went on to post a 21-6 record that season with a 2.49 ERA. He struck out a career-high 372 batters and helped lead the D-backs to a World Series championship.
And it all began with one seriously unlucky bird.