Major League Baseball revealed on Friday that Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson will don an Arizona Diamondbacks cap when he takes his place in Cooperstown this summer as part of the Class of 2015.
Johnson, who will join Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio in the 2015 class, played for the Diamondbacks from 1999-2004 and then again from 2007-08 and cemented a legacy in Arizona.
Johnson, 51, played 618 games and went 303-166 with a 3.29 ERA while playing for six different franchises, spending 10 years with the Seattle Mariners and eight with Arizona at his longest stints.
In honor of Johnson entering the Hall of Fame as a Diamondback, here is a look at five great moments for "The Big Unit" in an Arizona uniform.
Honorable Mention: March 24, 2001-Birds Eye View: This isn't as much an accomplishment as a once-in-a-lifetime crazy occurrence. In one of the weirdest things to ever unfold on a baseball diamond, Johnson fired a pitch in a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants just as a dove flew across the field. Johnson's pitch unfortunately struck the dove, causing it to fall in a sea of feathers. The umpires ruled it a no pitch and the count continued.
5) June 3, 2008-Moving on Up in Strikeouts: In his second stint with the Diamondbacks, Johnson fanned Milwaukee Brewers hitter Mike Cameron to surpass Roger Clemens for No. 2 on the all-time strikeout list with No. 4,673. Johnson would finish his career with 4,875 career strikeouts and remains second on the list behind Nolan Ryan (5,714).
Related Honorable Mention: Johnson struck out 20 Cincinnati Reds hitters on May 8, 2000 in one of the most dominant pitching performances ever.
4) 1999-2002-A Cy Young Four-Peat: Johnson was a beast as a Diamondback from 1999-2002, picking up the NL Cy Young Award in each one of those seasons. Johnson went 17-9, 19-7, 21-6 and 24-5 in that span with ERAs of 2.48, 2.64, 2.49 and 2.32.
3) 2002-The Triple Crown: Johnson won the Triple Crown in the 2002 season en route to the last of his four consecutive Cy Young Award victories. Johnson led the league in wins (24), ERA (2.32) and strikeouts (323), making him a shoo-in to once again pick up some hardware.
2) May 18, 2004-The Perfect Game: Johnson became the fifth pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in both the NL and AL when he pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves. At age 40, Johnson also became the oldest pitcher in baseball to accomplish that feat. Johnson struck out 13 Braves that day en route to victory and just over a month later, he'd become just the fourth player to notch 4,000 strikeouts in a game against the San Diego Padres.
1) November 4, 2001-World Series Champion: Johnson won the World Series for the first and only time in his career when the Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees in seven games in the 2001 Fall Classic. Johnson took home co-World Series MVP honors with Curt Schilling by going 3-0 with a 1.04 ERA in three games (two starts) with 19 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. Johnson struck out 11 and allowed three hits in a dominant Game 2 shutout before lasting seven innings to win Game 6 and then being on the winning side in Game 7 in a relief role.
After a memorable time in Arizona and a fantastic career all-around, Johnson will take his place in the Hall of Fame on the weekend of July 24-27 and will cement himself in baseball lore by entering Cooperstown.
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