I am very intrigued by the teams looking to 'rent' players for the final 1½-2 months as part of a playoff push. We saw the Pirates make trades for Justin Morneau and Marlon Byrd last year. Jon Lester looks to be on the move with the possibility of re-signing with the Red Sox in the off-season. But one of the greatest non-waiver trade deadline moves of all time was for this week's card of the week,...
In 1998, the Seattle Mariners were struggling and would decide to dump their ace and his 9-10 record and 4.33 ERA to the Houston Astros in return for John Halama, Freddy Garcia, and Carlos Guillen. Johnson then went on one of the greatest 11 game stretch in MLB history, compiling a 10-1 record with a 1.28 ERA and 116 Ks in 84.1 innings.
He would pitch well enough in the NLDS against the Padres with a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings with 17 strikeouts. He took the loss in two games, ending the Astros run against the eventual NL representative in the World Series. He was out-pitched in of those games by Kevin Brown and in the other by Sterling Hitchcock, each of whom have their own place in Showdown history. But the 2000 Randy Johnson is one of the great Showdown cards of all times.
Perhaps someday, we will be asked to make a 1998 Randy Johnson custom card. But for now, we just have to 'settle' for the 2000 version instead.
The one starter I might take over 00 Pedro (from the 00 sets). I seem to have better luck with him overall.
ReplyDeleteRandy was a great player in Seattle, but he was arguably the best pitcher in baseball those first few years in Arizona. His 2000 card was one I've never owned, but still covet. I think I appreciate it more now, because when I was younger, I frowned upon any pitcher with a control lower than 4. Now, I can see how the right rolls and strategy cards could make Randy near unbeatable, especially in a league with a point limit.
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