Ten years ago today, the Diamondbacks’ Randy Johnson tossed a perfect game against the Braves. The Big Unit was fairly blunt when asked to reflect upon his gem by MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. “That’s the one thing that I’ve noticed since I’ve stopped playing baseball is that I’m getting older, because time just doesn’t stop,” Johnson said. “Next thing you know we’re having a 10-year anniversary for the World Series and now a 10-year anniversary for my perfect game. It just doesn’t seem that long ago that I threw that perfect game. Although it does feel like 10 years as far as me remembering details of it, because I don’t remember many of the details of the game.” Johnson (owner of 303 wins, five Cy Young Awards, and second place on the all-time strikeout list) will be on his first Hall of Fame ballot next year and is keeping busy in retirement with photography and traveling in support of the USO.
In news and notes from the National League’s West Division:
- The Giants discussed the idea of hiring Tony LaRussa, but there wasn’t a fit since the team is happy with their baseball decision-makers and the Hall of Fame manager wasn’t interested in a strictly advisory role, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Sulia).
- The Dodgers will face a roster crunch when Hyun-jin Ryu is activated from the disabled list Wednesday, writes MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Paul Maholm, who replaced Ryu in the starting rotation, will shift to the bullpen, so the Dodgers may have to keep 13 pitchers because their current relievers either have guaranteed contracts and cannot be optioned to the minors (Brian Wilson, Chris Perez, J.P. Howell, and Jamey Wright) or have prominent late-inning roles (Kenley Jansen and Chris Withrow).
- Corey Brock of MLB.com chronicles the travels of Padres reliever Kevin Quackenbush, who has shuttled back-and-forth between San Diego and Triple-A El Paso five times since April 25. “This is where I want to be, so every time I’m up here, it’s a blessing,” the 25-year-old right-hander said. “It is something to laugh about a bit, I guess. But it’s still exciting.“
