PHOENIX — Saying “there were a lot of special moments created here,” Randy Johnson thanked fans, teammates, front office personnel, even the clubhouse guys when the Arizona Diamondbacks retired his No. 51 on Saturday night.
Johnson won four consecutive NL Cy Young Awards and a World Series championship, threw a perfect game at age 40, and as he noted, killed a bird with a pitch during his eight seasons — over two stints — with the Diamondbacks, who later lost 4-1 to Cincinnati on Saturday night.
The honor came two weeks after Johnson’s induction as a first-ballot selection to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
He joins former teammate Luis Gonzalez as the only Arizona players to have their numbers retired by the franchise.
Johnson strode to the infield from the bullpen, the same walk he took in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.
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When the ceremony was over, he stood on the mound he had so dominated and waved to the big crowd.
The Diamondbacks presented Johnson with an exact replica of the drum set used by the rock group Rush. Johnson is friends with members of the band, particularly bass player and lead singer Geddy Lee.
Johnson bent over in surprise and threw his hands in the air.
He took the microphone and spoke to the crowd, listing thanks by name, including many players from his World Series championship team.
He said his third baseman at the time, Matt Williams, who is now the Nationals’ manager, “was the closest to my personality” on game day than anyone he had known. He thanked fans who rooted for him and against him.
Johnson recalled his intensity on the days he pitched, remembering himself “morphing into something I didn’t know I was becoming.”
“When I stepped between the lines, I gave it everything I had,” he said.
In eight seasons over two stints with Arizona, Johnson was 118-62, with a 2.83 ERA. He struck out 2,077 batters with the Diamondbacks, and had 416 walks.
Five years after his retirement — and after getting 303 career wins — Johnson’s temperament has noticeably softened.
He explained after his Hall of Fame selection that he simply had to be the person he was as a pitcher to have the success that he did.
Johnson, in what he said was an extremely tough decision, chose to enter the Hall of Fame as a Diamondback. He has been hired by the franchise as special assistant to club president Derrick Hall.
On Wednesday, Johnson will travel to Japan with Hall, managing partner Ken Kendrick and Gonzalez as part of a Diamondbacks goodwill tour.
Reds beat D-backs
PHOENIX — Keyvius Sampson earned his first major league victory and Cincinnati hit three home runs in its victory over Arizona on Saturday.
All the Cincinnati runs came on homers by Eugenio Suarez, Brandon Phillips and Marlon Byrd, whose solo shot in the ninth was his 150th career home run.
Robbie Ray (3-7) pitched six innings for Arizona, allowing three runs and five hits. He matched his career high with eight strikeouts and walked one, but fell to 0-3 in his last five starts.
Aroldis Chapman, hitting 103 mph on the Chase Field radar gun, threw a scoreless ninth for his 24th save in 25 tries.
- The D-backs pulled off their second trade in less than 24 hours, sending infielder Cliff Pennington to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league shortstop Dawel Lugo.
On Friday night, Arizona traded left-handed reliever Oliver Perez to the Houston Astros for minor league lefty Junior Garcia.
