Randy Johnson by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [CHRISTOPHER, MATTHEW F]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316094207
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2009-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

1992

Triumph and Tragedy

No matter how hard he tried in the 1992 season, he continued to struggle. It began to appear as if Randy Johnson would finish his career without ever fulfilling his awesome potential. He was walking as many batters as ever, and his won-loss record was well under .500. In Seattle, there was talk of trading him. The team was simply running out of patience.

In mid-season, the Mariners traveled to Texas to play the Rangers, who were led by their star pitcher, Nolan Ryan.

Although Ryan was of average height, he and Randy Johnson had much in common. Like Johnson; Ryan was blessed with one of the best fastballs in the history of baseball. Early in his career, he too had struggled with his control.

After reaching the big leagues for good with the New York Mets in 1968, Ryan had spent several seasons both starting and relieving for New York. He threw the ball as hard as anyone in the major leagues, but he rarely knew where it was going. The Mets finally lost patience with him and in 1972 traded Ryan to the California Angels.

Ryan’s struggles continued with California. Although he regularly struck out as many as 300 or more hitters in a single season, including a major league record 383 in 326 innings in 1973, he also walked more hitters than any other pitcher in baseball. As a result, his won-loss record hovered around .500.

After being traded to Houston in 1980, Ryan slowly started to gain control of his fastball. But he really got going in 1989, when he joined the Texas Rangers. At an age when most pitchers were ready to retire, Ryan finally put it all together. He learned to throw strikes and spot his pitches without sacrificing speed. After more than twenty years in the major leagues, he had finally figured out how to pitch. No pitcher in the major leagues had ever struck out as many batters as Nolan Ryan.

His pitching coach, Tom House, had provided the help Ryan needed. House, a former major league pitcher, studied the mechanics of throwing a baseball like a scientist. Working with Ryan, he noticed some tiny mechanical flaws in Ryan’s motion. When Ryan learned how to correct those flaws, his control problems disappeared.

When Ryan looked at Randy Johnson, he saw a lot of himself. He knew what Johnson was going through. Even though he played for a different team, Ryan decided to offer Johnson some help.

Ryan and House were working together on an instructional video entitled FASTBALL, designed to teach younger players how to throw the ball faster. They contacted Johnson to appear in the video.

The three met in Texas when the Mariners came to play the Rangers. Johnson and Ryan were both in between starts so they had time to work on the video.

Johnson admired Ryan. And although the two had met before, they hadn’t had the opportunity really to talk.

Ryan did most of the talking. In the presence of Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson was definitely the pupil.

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