@FlameRaptorRaven

3mo

The Big Unit Loved Opening Day

One cool part about Opening Day is the opportunity to show off a team’s best pitcher. Nobody took more advantage of that spotlight than Randy Johnson, the Big Unit. Although he ranks behind Tom Seaver for most Opening Day starts, he has, by far, the most Opening Day strikeouts. Let’s go through each one and see how the Big Unit did in his 14 Opening Day starts. #1: April 6th, 1992, Mariners vs. Rangers The Big Unit’s first ever Opening Day start came against the Texas Rangers and 45-year-old Nolan Ryan. Randy went 5.2 innings, gave up 3 earned run, 5 hits and 4 BBs. He retired the first 9 batters consecutively with little trouble, but struggled in the latter half of this start before getting pulled. Mariners lost 12-10. #2: April 6th, 1993, Mariners vs. Blue Jays This one is pretty iconic. Randy Johnson faced the defending and future World Series champion 1993 Blue Jays and smoked them. 8 innings of 1 run ball with 14 strikeouts which is tied for the 2nd most in an Opening Day start, only behind Camilo Pascual’s 16 Ks in 1960. Mariners won 8-1. #3: April 4th, 1994, Mariners @ Cleveland In the first game ever at Jacobs Field, Randy threw a no-hitter through 7 innings, only for a stacked Cleveland lineup to finally breakthrough in the 8th. Randy finished with a shockingly low 2 Ks, but only allowed 2 runs in 8 innings. Mariners lost 3-2. #4: April 27th, 1995, Mariners vs Tigers Randy wasn’t fucking around this year. 6 innings of shutout ball. Only allowed 5 base runners and struck out 8 while making every Tiger wish the strike lasted a bit longer. Mariners won 3-0. #5: March 31st, 1996, Mariners vs White Sox The Big Hurt Frank Thomas got to the Big Unit right away with a blast to right field after Randy walked the first batter. All Randy did was respond by striking out 14, only allowing 2 other hits and not allowing another run in 7 innings of work. Mariners won 3-2. #6: March 31st, 1998, Mariners vs Cleveland Easily Randy Johnson’s worst opening day performance. In 5.2 innings of work, Randy gave up 5 earned runs on 11 hits and only managed to strike out 7. It is the only Opening Day start Randy gave up more than 3 earned runs. Sandy Alomar and Manny Ramirez did the most damage. Mariners lost 10-9. #7: April 5th, 1999, Diamondbacks @ Dodgers Randy’s first start with Arizona was pretty good against fellow big money pitcher Kevin Brown. 7 innings of 2 run ball with 9 strikeouts. But also gave up 5 hits and 6 BBs. This would somehow be a down game by his standards in Arizona. Diamondbacks lost 8-6. #8: April 4th, 2000, Diamondbacks vs Philadelphia This is what batters expected from Diamondback Randy Johnson. 8.2 innings of work, allowed 2 earned runs and 6 base runners while accumulating 10 strikeouts. Ironically, this is the only opening day start when Randy gave up 2 home runs. Desi Relaford of all people hit one of those homers and went 2/3 at the plate. Diamondbacks won 6-4. #9: April 3rd, 2001, Diamondbacks @ Dodgers Against Eric Gagné of all people, Randy went 7 innings, only gave up 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 10 batters. LA’s leadoff hitter Marquis Grissom was 3 of those strikeouts and had a very bad day. Diamondbacks won 3-2. #10: April 1st, 2002, Diamondbacks vs Padres This is my favourite one. Coming off his incredible World Series performance in 2001, Randy pitched a complete game shutout. He struck out 8, walked 1 and gave up just 6 hits with only one of those being for extra bases. Btw, Randy was 38 at this time. Diamondbacks won 2-0 #11: March 31st, 2003, Diamondbacks vs Dodgers Another one of Randy’s worst opening day performances. He went 6.2 innings, gave up 3 earned runs and 9 hits while only striking out 5. Meanwhile, Hideo Nomo pitched a complete game shutout. Diamondbacks lost 8-0 #12: April 6th, 2004, Diamondbacks vs Rockies Another sub-par Opening Day by Randy’s lofty standards. 6 innings, 3 earned runs allowed and just 6 strikeouts. Maybe the 40-year-old Big Unit is on the decline? No. He finished 2nd in Cy Young voting that year. Diamondbacks lost 6-2. #13: April 3rd, 2005, Yankees vs Red Sox In Randy’s Yankee debut, against the defending curse breaking World Series champion Red Sox, Randy goes 6 innings, only allowed 1 earned run and struck out 6 batters, including Manny and Ortiz. Yankees won 9-2. #14: April 3rd, 2006, Yankees @ Athletics In Randy’s final Opening Day start, he went out on a high note. 7 innings and only 1 earned run allowed on 5 hits and no walks. The only blemish was a home run he gave up to old man Frank Thomas. Yankees won 15-2. Randy Johnson finished with an ERA of 2.49 across all his Opening Day starts. He also racked up 107 strikeouts across those starts, the most ever. Next closest is Tom Seaver with 86. Randy Johnson has the most 10K Opening Day starts with 4 and is the only pitcher ever to have multiple 14K Opening Day starts. The message was clear, do not mess with Randy Johnson on Opening Day. Unless you’re Frank Thomas.

MLB

Replies:

Max Max Muncy Muncy

Please take a moment to look at the picture up above. Yes, that is true. Though it seems like a glitch in the matrix it’s not. These two individuals share the exact same name, same profession, some position, drafted by the same team, mostly hit towards the bottom of the order, and don’t even know each other. Completely unrelated too! I’d love to see these two on the same team one day.

@Landon

4.1

Mookie Betts Number 300!

Mookie Betts hits his 300th home run against the Minnesota Twins on June 24, 2026. Mookie has been struggling this year but looks to bounce back and get back to the form we all know he can play at. Mookie is the 167th MLB player to have 300 or more home runs in his career.

@ChuckieHussy

500 / 500 Club, Membership of One

On June 23rd, 2003 In a dramatic extra inning game at Pac Bell Park (now Oracle Park) against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers, Bonds delivered one of the signature moments of his career. In the bottom of the 11th inning of a 2-2 tie, he reached base and then swiped second against prime-time closer Éric Gagné (one of the most dominant relievers of that era). That theft was his 500th career stolen base. He famously pulled the base out of the ground, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and carried it off the field as the crowd erupted. The Giants went on to win 3-2 in walk-off fashion, with Bonds scoring the winning run later in the inning. This moment capped an incredible stretch for Bonds. In 2003, despite playing only 130 games, he hit .341 with 45 HR, slugged .749, and posted a .529 on-base percentage — walking 148 times. en.wikipedia.org Love him or hate him (and the era's PED controversies fuel plenty of debate), the 500-500 club remains a club of one more than two decades later. It perfectly symbolizes the rare blend of power, speed, plate discipline, and longevity that defined Bonds at his peak. No one else has come close. This moment capped an incredible stretch for Bonds. In 2003, despite playing only 130 games, he hit .341 with 45 HR, slugged .749, and posted a .529 on-base percentage — walking 148 times. Love him or hate him (and the era's PED controversies fuel plenty of debate), the 500-500 club remains a club of one more than two decades later. It perfectly symbolizes the rare blend of power, speed, plate discipline, and longevity that defined Bonds at his peak. No one else has come close.