MLB Network Presents returns with new episodes during All-Star Week, featuring Randy Johnson, The Big Picture on Thursday, July 16
July 13, 2015 - The original series MLB Network Presents returns for a mid-summer run of new episodes during All-Star Week. MLB Network Presents: Randy Johnson, The Big Picture, premiering on Thursday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET, is an intimate portrait of the 2015 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and his transformative journey from raw talent to dominant force. The hour-long show is narrated by Metallica lead singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Hetfield and includes unique perspectives from interviews with former teammates, opponents, managers and celebrity friends - including former Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly, former Dbacks teammates Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace and Curt Schilling, and Rush lead singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Geddy Lee - that shed light on Johnson's playing career and life after baseball, just weeks before he's inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26.
Earlier in the week, MLB Network Presents: Buck Showalter, A Life in Baseball will offer an in-depth look at the passion and philosophy that have been at the core of the current Orioles manager's more than two decades of coaching and managing among four Major League clubs. Interviews with Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, former Yankees GM Gene Michael and Showalter's wife, Angela, are featured throughout the episode, which premieres on Wednesday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The following preview clips look back at Johnson facing John Kruk at the 1993 All-Star Game, his personality in the clubhouse, and his intense demeanor on the mound. Quotes from MLB Network Presents: Randy Johnson, The Big Picture are available below:
Johnson on his persona on the mound:
"Not everybody is wired the same way. There [were] times when I'd stare down a hitter, intimidate them, yeah, absolutely. I loved it, I'm not going to deny that. I loved that one-on-one. I don't regret it, it's just the way I performed and I performed better that way, having a little bit of an edge to me.
On being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
"I got an amazing phone call, and I've had a few during my baseball career, but that had to have been the pinnacle of all phone calls I've ever received from New York to inform me that I'd been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. [It's] not something I ever thought about when I played baseball, [it's] nothing I ever played for. I don't think anybody ever really plays for that or anything else other than the love of the game. But when I got the phone call, I was just amazed, in awe. There's so many great players that have played this game. Out of 18,000 people-plus that have played the game, 200-something in the Hall of Fame, and I'm part of that fraternity, I'm extremely humbled. It was the greatest moment of my career."
On his father's passing:
"Losing my dad on Christmas Day in 1992 had the most impact of my career. It took me a while to really recover from that. He's the one that instilled in me not to be complacent with your success, and so, I never was, I moved on. But that was really what defined my career was never being content with anything and always trying to do better and be better, and he just really instilled that in me. After I was able to get my feet back under me again, there was nothing that was gonna hold me back."
"You're going to get out of this game what you put into it, and I put a great deal of pride in putting a lot of effort into the weight room and preparing myself so I could hold up a whole year."
Curt Schilling on Johnson's demeanor:
"He was very raw. It wasn't nice, and it was palpable. I think that made hitters uncomfortable, I think he was okay with that."
On Johnson's performance during the 2001 World Series:
Bob Brenly:
"I think he relished the idea that he was the guys, he was the man that we needed to win that World Series. Randy recognized in his own mind that if we were going to have success, he had to be 'The Big Unit.'"
"I think any time somebody goes above and beyond what's expected and then has success doing it, that's what cements you in the lore of baseball.
Luis Gonzalez:
"Going into Game Seven with Schilling on the mound, we felt good, and then with Randy in relief, we felt even better if we had to go that route."
Brenly on Johnson post-retirement:
"To be quite honest with you, I don't really recognize this guy because the guy that I dealt with every fifth day, you'd never have known that he could smile. You'd never know that he could laugh. I don't know who that guy was. He's a delightful guy now that he's found other avenues to channel his energies, and I think he did what he had to do as a player. He did what he felt he had to do to be at his best every fifth day and I will never begrudge that, but boy, it would've been a lot more fun to have the guy we know now those other four days between starts."