![]() In the issue of Sports Illustrated, Tom Verducci produced a wonderful retrospective of Randy Johnson. Hidden somewhere in the midst of the hyperbole and hubris that comprise Johnson’s character, the 45-year-old pitcher says, that he “dabbled in all kinds of powders and tried to put weight on.â€Â He goes on, “I took a lot of different things that, you know, maybe at that time, maybe early enough, if I would have been tested, who knows? I could have been taking stuff had they tested me back then. Last night, Randy Johnson, that tall holdover from an era bereft of pitch counts, that embodiment of intimidation, that mainstay of modern baseball, won his 299th career game. He allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out six over six innings against the Atlanta Braves. One more victory and Johnson collects that magical number 300. The dominant pitcher of his era, Johnson is without a doubt a Hall-of-Famer 300 victories will simply solidify his place in baseball lore. Yet, there remains one minor issue, Johnson pitched in the Steroid Era. Just like any other player of this time period, Johnson’s career will be vulnerable to suspicion and doubt.Īs time passes, I’m increasingly convinced that the defining image of this era isn’t going to be some monstrous moon shot of a homerun, the abnormally large head of Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro defiantly wagging his finger at Congress, or even Alex Rodriguez speaking frankly to Peter Gammons while dressed in his royal blue sweater. Instead, we’re going to remember a somewhat leaner Mark McGwire, gray peppering his once orange beard, in a pale green tie, dodging the questions and asserting that he did not come here to “talk about the past.â€Â As baseball fans, the more we kick over the rocks of the past, the more uncertain we become of the present. Randy Johnson is one of the most accomplished pitchers of the Steroid Era. What does that say about him? More importantly, what does it say about us? ![]()
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