Randy Johnson has scheduled a conference call for later today, at which time the five-time Cy Young award winner is expected to announce his retirement.
The call comes on the eve of Wednesday's Hall of Fame voting results, a fitting time being that five years from now, it will be Johnson who almost certainly will be inducted into Cooperstown.
Johnson, 46, won his 300th game last summer pitching for the San Francisco Giants, becoming just the 24th pitcher in history to reach that level. That, though, turned into the highlight of his season. Not long after, he suffered a tear in his rotator cuff, missed the next several weeks and finished 8-6 with a 4.88 ERA for the Giants.
Only Roger Clemens (six) won more Cy Young awards than Johnson, who helped pitch the Arizona Diamondbacks to the 2001 World Series title in a memorable triumph over the Yankees. Johnson and Curt Schilling were co-MVPs during that series, during which one of the most memorable moments came when Johnson entered Game 7 in relief in the eighth inning and earned the win after being the winning pitcher in Game 6 the night before.
Over 22 seasons with Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona, the Yankees and the Giants, Johnson went 303-166. His 4,875 strikeouts rank second all-time to Nolan Ryan (5,714). He also pitched 37 shutouts.
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