Randy Johnson Records His First Save 30 Years Ago Today
Welcome to the jungle (Kingdome), we got fun and games (Randy Johnson in relief). Plus, the cost to attend a game in 1993 and how a 1976 expansion draft pick led Félix Hernández to the Mariners.
It’s Game 5 of the 1995 American League Division Series. The Seattle Mariners are playing in their first playoff series. They are facing the New York Yankees who are playing in their 4,892,453rd playoff series. Norm Charlton is pitching for the Mariners and he’s done. Tank is empty. Manager Lou Piniella strolls to the mound, talks to Norm. Then he looks down the third base line into his bullpen. He holds up his left arm and points to it. Randy Johnson starts walking his way. The Big Unit. Game 3 starter, now ace relief pitcher.
It’s hard to believe the Kingdome didn’t implode that night as everyone lost their minds when Randy entered the game.
It wasn’t the first time he’d done it either. 30 years ago today, he and Lou gave it a test run.
*****
The 1993 Seattle Mariners don’t get enough attention. They’ve been overshadowed by the 1995 team, and by virtue of sharing a number of the same players aren’t able to overcome the nostalgia overload of ‘95. But this team had so many fun, wacky, weird, incredible moments. It’s no mistake that I constantly find fun stories about this team.
Among the highlights, Chris Bosio threw the second no-hitter in Mariners history, twice Piniella played a pitcher in the outfield, Randy Johnson was traded to the Blue Jays except he wasn’t because General Manager Woody Woodward was out golfing, the Mariners rebranded away from blue and yellow into navy blue and teal, Ken Griffey Jr. hit home runs in eight consecutive games, they had an epic brawl with the Orioles, had their second winning season in their 16 year history (OR, their second winning season in three years if you want to “be positive” and “look on the bright side”) and a handful of Mariners recorded cameos for the movie Little Big League (the best baseball movie, no argument).
It wasn’t all quirky baseball things, though. The team had been bitten by a significant injury bug. One of the most devasting victims was Edgar Martinez. He initially injured his hamstring in a Spring Training game in Vancouver B.C. and struggled with it all season, only appearing in 42 games. The start after he threw his no-hitter, Chris Bosio broke his collar bone (then reinjured it in the aforementioned brawl). Rich Amaral also suffered a hamstring injury. Brian Turang missed time with a lymphatic infection, and on the eve our story, the Mariners learned Norm Charlton and Tino Martinez would be out for the rest of the year. By the time the season ended, 48 players had called the Mariners their team.
Going into the game on August 16th, 1993, the Mariners were 7 games out of first place in the American League West and three games under .500. Just a month earlier, they had been above .500 and two games out of first. Injuries and bullpen troubles dragged them down. They were beginning to pull out of the slump though, winning three in a row and the first two games against the California Angels before losing a demoralizing 14-2 game in the series finale. Ken Griffey Jr. missed the entire series with a lower back injury. Rumors that the Mariners were trying to trade Randy Johnson to Toronto through waivers had only recently been put to rest.
The Baltimore Orioles arrived in town with troubles of their own. A half game out of first place in the AL East as recently as seven games ago, they were nursing a six-game losing streak and had fallen 4 1/2 games back. They learned just before game time that death threats had been made on an internet bulletin board against shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.
No matter the malaise of each team, there was a game to play. So, let’s remember some guys:
Ken Griffey Jr. was out of the lineup for the fourth straight game. His injury occurred at home, where he said he slipped while carrying a box of weights to the new weight room in his house. Now, if you know much about Griffey, you know he notoriously did not lift weights. So, we’re going to side-eye that story as we begin the game.
The first batter, Brady Anderson, drew first blood with a home run off Dave Fleming. Luckily, Fleming recovered and escaped the inning. The Mariners fought back right away. Brian Turang led off with a double in the bottom of the first, then scored on an error when the throw went into the dugout. Jay Buhner hit a two-run home run and Mike Blowers followed with a single. Orioles starter Rick Sutcliff then beaned Bret Boone with a pitch, causing some arguing between the teams. Worried about another brawl, Sutcliff and both benches were warned by the home plate umpire. Then, Dave Valle drove in another run.
The Orioles scored a single run in two other innings, but after the Mariners scored another four runs in the bottom of the fourth, the game looked out of reach for Baltimore. Until the Mariners bullpen arrived.
Jeff Nelson relieved Fleming with two outs in the seventh inning. He closed out the seventh but struggled as he began the eighth. Knowing they’d used several relief pitchers in the 14-2 loss the day before, Randy Johnson told Lou Piniella he had an inning in him if it was needed. Randy started two days before, throwing 144 pitches in his win against the Angels. Today was his throw day, which he planned to do after the game. Piniella initially dismissed the idea.
He replaced Nelson with Erik Plantenberg who allowed pinch-hitting Harold Baines to load the bases. Piniella turned to Randy. “I told him to get his spikes on,” Piniella said after the game.1
Third baseman Mike Blowers heard the crowd erupt in cheers. “I thought they had the ‘cheer’ sign up on the scoreboard,” he said2. Then, he realized the Big Unit was warming up in the bullpen. Like most everyone on the field, he figured it was one of Piniella’s ploys to throw the Orioles off track.
Piniella sauntered out to the mound to bring in Ted Power to replace Plantenberg and give Randy a chance to warm up. Power promptly walked his first batter to score a run. Bases still loaded. Former Mariner Harold Reynolds pinch hit and helped his former team by flying out on the first pitch he saw.
With two outs, Piniella made another trip to the mound. This time, he signaled for the tall lefthander.
Randy had one career inning in relief on his resume, a scoreless 8th in a 1989 loss when he was with the Expos. Otherwise, he’d been a starter. Like a starter, he had a long, leisurely warm up routine. That night, he only had a few minutes to get ready. He said later, “Some relievers drink 10 cups of coffee before they go out there. I didn’t need any. I was fired up.”3
Equally as fired up was the Kingdome crowd. Randy Johnson was coming in to the game. The score was 8-4, still Mariners. But the Orioles had the bases loaded. Not only was this a surprise relief appearance, it was a save situation.
Brady Anderson stepped up the plate first and after going 0-2 worked a full count then drove the eighth pitch of the at bat between the third baseman and shortstop for two RBI. Randy wasn’t going to let the game get away though. He struck out future Mariner Mark McLemore looking.
Randy came back out for the top of the ninth inning and proceeded to strike out three of the four batters he faced. The Mariners won, 8-6. Randy Johnson earned the save.
His teammates loved the move. Mike Blowers said after the game, “What a thrill for everyone in the stands and everyone on our team. After all we’ve been through recently, injuries and all, this was just what we needed to pick us up.”4 Chris Bosio agreed. “For us it was inspirational. Seeing the Big Guy coming in to save a game was a boost for us.”5
As for the man himself, he said, “Saving that game was a thrill for me, too…I was more nervous in that eighth inning than I was closing my no-hitter…I just didn’t want to blow the game for Flem or for the team.”6
After the game Piniella couldn’t stop gushing about his ace taking on the closer role. “He showed me something. He’s got closer stuff, but he didn’t have to put himself in there. He picked up his entire team doing it.”7
“I can wait another 4 1/2 seasons to do it again,” Randy said.8
Famous last words. Because two years later:
You’re in the jungle!
I’ve had this game on my idea list for some time because I was there and I’ve vividly remembered it all these years. From the low of finding out that Ken Griffey Jr. wasn’t in the lineup, to the excitement when Randy Johnson walked out to the bullpen, to the absolute euphoria when he entered the game. Listening to the highlights on the radio post-game show while we sat in traffic getting out of the Kingdome parking lot. This game is drilled into my memory.
Randy Johnson was my first favorite baseball player and this was one of the things that securely anchored my baseball fandom.
I’ve looked for video footage of this game for years. It’s made more difficult by the fact that the game wasn’t televised in Seattle. In fact, none of the Orioles series was televised! If anyone ever comes across anything, I desperately want to see it.
Fun with Inflation Calculators
Speaking of attending the game, I was there with my whole family on a Monday night. This seemed odd to me so I looked to see what promotion got us out to the ball game It was a Family Night, where you could get two tickets for the price of one. Looking up the promotions, I found a spread in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer9 that was supposed to be a guide to attending games, but mostly complained about how much it cost to go. Naturally, I had to whip out the inflation calculator.
Adjusting for inflation from 1993 to 2023 roughly doubles the prices, which makes it easy to get a ballpark idea of the cost in 2023 dollars. We were sitting in the 300-level above third base, which cost $6.50 for adults and $5.00 for kids. The most expensive seats were box seats, which ran $12.50 apiece with no special pricing for kids. Imagine sitting right behind home plate at a major league baseball game for just over $25 in the year 2023.
The super expensive food items (in 1993 dollars) were $4 Pizza Hut pizzas and $3.75 hamburgers. But kids hot dogs ran $1 each, along with popcorn and soda. An adult hot dog was $1.75.
So, yes, if it feels like it has gotten much more expensive to attend a baseball game, that’s because it has. Those people who love to tell you that hamburgers used to cost a penny, gas was a nickel, and they bought their house for $10 will someday be replaced by those of us saying, “Back in my day you could practically sit on the field for $12.50!” and the young ‘uns will just roll their eyes.
Kings and Successions
I was playing around with doing a story on the line of succession that brought King Félix to the Mariners, but as I was putting it together I kept picking up on different threads that I felt like I should pull through to round out the story and quite frankly I just don’t feel like it. Plus it’s a lot of Mark Langston and Randy Johnson, and they’re all I’ve written about this week and I’m a little tired of them. It’s fun to trace these things back though, so here’s an abbreviated version:
Félix signed with the Mariners and wore #34 because he idolized Freddy García. Freddy is a legend to Venezuelan players. He was the ace of the 116-win 2001 Mariners, and like Felix his ability to execute his pitches faded earlier that it should have. But, when he was good, he was GOOD.
Freddy García came to the Mariners at the 1998 trade deadline, when Woody Woodward successfully traded Randy Johnson to the Houston Astros. Freddy came over with Carlos Guillen and John Halama, a trade that had everyone howling about how terrible it was. And then it turned out to be one of Woody’s best. Baseball!
Randy Johnson came to the Mariners from the Montreal Expos along with Brian Holman and Gene Harris in exchange for Mark Langston in 1989. This is another trade that everyone hated.
The Mariners drafted Langston in 1981, 35th overall. The pick they used was a compensation pick for Bill Stein signing with the Rangers after the 1980 season.
This brings us to the beginning of the line of succession, the 1976 Expansion Draft. The Mariners chose Bill Stein from the Chicago White Sox with their 3rd pick.
It’s fitting that the player who begins the journey to Félix was also thrilled to be a Mariner. He was excited to get out of Chicago, and declared that the team the Mariners drafted was better than the 1976 White Sox (and they were…not. They were worse by one game in the loss column.) He said after being drafted, “I’ve never been to Seattle, but I feel I know it, how beautiful it is.”10 He earned his first Opening Day start and became the first third baseman in Mariners history.
It’s baseball’s version of the butterfly effect. Without Bill Stein, there’s no King Félix.
FINNIGAN, BOB. "BIG UNIT GIVES BIG LIFT: JOHNSON DAZZLES IN RELIEFM'S ACE SAVES GAME, BELEAGUERED BULLPEN." THE SEATTLE TIMES, August 17, 1993: C1.
FINNIGAN. "BIG UNIT." C1.
FINNIGAN. "BIG UNIT." C1.
FINNIGAN. "BIG UNIT." C1.
FINNIGAN. "BIG UNIT." C1.
FINNIGAN. "BIG UNIT." C1.
FINNIGAN. "BIG UNIT." C1.
FINNIGAN. "BIG UNIT." C1.
Marshall, John. "GREAT EXPECTATIONS - MAYBE THIS YEAR WE'LL FALL IN LOVE WITH THE MARINERS." Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 8, 1993: C1.
Zimmerman, Hy. “Better than 1976 White Sox”, Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington), November 16, 1976: 58.
This is excellent work :))