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This article is excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat Newsletter, written by Bill Ladson this week. Click here to read the full newsletter. Subscribe to receive it regularly in your inbox.
In a recent phone interview with MLB.com, Hall of Famer Randy Johnson answered questions on a wide range of topics, from his career with the D-backs to his love of photography.
MLB.com: 25 years ago this past December, you decided to sign with the D-backs as a free agent. Can’t believe you made that decision so long ago?
Randy Johnson: Sometimes I look at it that way. I am now 60 years old, and it feels like time has passed since I retired. Well…when you talk about years and months, it’s hard to imagine that it happened that long ago.
MLB.com: Why did you decide to sign with Arizona at that time?
Johnson: The two months went by pretty well. [in August and September with the Astros]. I was traded by him from Seattle to Houston in 1998. I went from his 3rd place team to his 1st place team. The Astros had a great offense, a No. 1 bullpen, a great defense, and a large ballpark. I was pitching at the Houston Astrodome. it was fun. At the end of the season, he became a free agent. I was talking to the Astros. When the Astros didn’t do well, I branched out and talked to the Dodgers, Angels, Rangers, and Diamondbacks.
At the end of the day, all the teams were basically in the same ballpark in terms of years, money and everything else. I needed persuasive power from… [then-managing general partner] Jerry Colangelo says the Diamondbacks were that team [to play for]. He had a way of convincing me that things were going to start going well. They’re going to go out and get more players. It took some time, but a persistent Jerry Colangelo was able to sign me to the Diamondbacks.
Johnson: Although the team was a new franchise, [young players]. There were many veteran players, but there were also some young players mixed in. … For a lot of players out there, it was just a fun run for me personally. It was the franchise’s first World Series victory in four years. That was very exciting.
MLB.com: Was playing against the Yankees in the World Series your best moment?
Johnson: Well, obviously. Every time I go to spring training, I get motivated to work hard enough and sometimes be lucky enough to make it to the World Series. When you go to the World Series like we did, you want to win. It was really magical that we won. We have a veteran team and they put the team together.You watched the World Series when we came back [to beat] Mariano Rivera. Little things became clear. That’s what happened in his 1999, the first year I was there. Then in 2000, 2001 and 2002, there was a lot of positive, good energy and a lot of great things happened.
MLB.com: Twenty-five years later, the D-backs are the defending National League champions. How bright is the future for them?
Johnson: Very bright. Just like in 2001, there are a lot of special things happening here in Arizona. The current team is a much younger team. I believe anything is possible. I think the Dodgers could have been a little better, and I think the Diamondbacks could have been a lot better. They believe they can compete with anyone. I think the National League West will be a competitive team. It will probably be 3- [or] Probably a 4 team race.
The Dodgers and Padres have [big] Payroll calculation. San Francisco has a new manager, Bob Melvin, who seems to be constantly trying to get his players to play better. Like you said, the Diamondbacks are National League champions. We will remain champions until we are knocked down. I think the young players are excited to defend their title. Spring training is almost here. Let’s see what happens. There is definitely a lot of optimism based on last year’s results. That’s all you can do. Everyone starts equally.
MLB.com: As a special assistant to the team’s president and CEO, Derrick Hall, you spend time with pitchers in the minor league system. What is the biggest thing you want them to learn about pitching?
Johnson: The biggest thing is how good they can perform. …I just want them to understand what pitching is. It’s not necessarily about throwing 160 miles per hour. That’s great, but you need to take advantage of every pitch. That’s what it’s all about. You have to change your eye height, you have to change your speed, you can’t throw a ball at 100 miles an hour and expect to be successful, or think you’ll be successful. That’s not pitching.I learned that early in the minor leagues. [career] In the same way.
After four years in the minor leagues and several years in the major leagues, his pitching evolved as he learned consistency and mechanics with the help of Nolan Ryan. As hitting evolves, so do you. As soon as you are successful, hitters start analyzing why you are successful. Is there a pattern? Something like that. It just needs to evolve. That’s what pitchers need to know. They need to know how to pitch.
MLB.com: You have a passion for photography. Actually, you are a photojournalist. Of all the exhibits you have displayed since you retired, what are you most proud of?
Johnson: There was an exhibition at [Cooperstown,] New York is called storytelling through photography. These were 30 photos taken in Ethiopia. …I just went out to Tanzania and saw the lions and the wildlife, and I enjoyed it all. I went to Rwanda. I once went to the mountains there to see silverback gorillas.
MLB.com: What made you start photography?
Johnson: I did it in high school.I needed a major. [at USC]So I worked at the college newspaper — The Daily Trojan — in 1983, ’84, and ’85. So I learned a little more about photography. I had a chance to do some things with the camera and develop the film. it was fun. I played baseball there and focused on it because that’s what I wanted to do with my life. Fortunately, I was right.
When I’m alone taking photos, I feel like I’m pitching. I’m very focused, I enjoy myself, and I know what I want. I’m blindfolded. The person taking the photo is me and the subject. It could be an animal.It might be above Monument Valley [in Arizona]. The person I’m photographing could be someone attending the concert.
MLB.com: You also took photos of rock stars. Do you know who is who first?
Johnson: I don’t know who the first person was. I worked at the Daily Trojan. If there is a concert on campus and you need photos, [I would go] Because they were writing concert reviews. Eventually, whenever I needed a photo pass for a concert I wanted to go to, I would say I was taking pictures for the Daily Trojan. In the 1980s, getting a qualification wasn’t that big of a deal. I was able to watch a fun concert and take photos of a few songs. It was kind of cool.
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