By Joseph White
Associated PressWASHINGTON ó The Big Unit was held up by Mother Nature, putting history on hold.
Randy Johnson’s bid for 300 wins was postponed Wednesday night after a series of thunderstorms left the field at Nationals Park unplayable for Johnson’s San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals.
At 10:47 p.m. EDT ó more than 31/2 hours after the scheduled 7:05 p.m. first pitch ó Nationals president Stan Kasten announced that the game had been called and would be made up as part of a doubleheader starting at 4:35 p.m. today.
“The field is not playable, and that’s the reason we can’t play,” Kasten said after sloshing through masses of standing water in the outfield with the umpires. “We really tried. We were all trying to get it done, but at the end of the night, it’s not worth the risk to our players.”
Johnson will pitch the first game of the doubleheader against Nationals rookie Jordan Zimmermann, the same matchup that had been scheduled for Wednesday. San Francisco’s Matt Cain will face Ross Detwiler in Game 2.Because of two Giants off days, Johnson will be pitching on seven days rest since winning No. 299 last week against the Atlanta Braves. He left the ballpark without speaking to reporters.
“You look at his career, and he’s been through everything,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. “Randy’s fine. I’m sure he’s anxious to pitch, not just because it’s 300.”
Johnson is attempting to become the 24th pitcher to win 300 games. Before the storms hit, discussions centered on whether the 45-year-old lefty will be the last. Pitch counts, quick hooks and an overall abundance of caution with pitchers have made consistent big-win seasons a rarity.
“He’s going after a tremendous accomplishment that probably we’ll never see again,” Washington manager Manny Acta said. “It’s becoming tougher and tougher.”
Only four pitchers have averaged at least 15 wins over the last six full seasons, and the career leader among those four ó Roy Halladay ó has only 140 wins at age 32, putting him about a decade away from 300 at his present pace. The only contenders above 200 wins are 46-year-old Jamie Moyer (250), 36-year-old Andy Pettitte (220), 37-year-old Pedro Martinez (214) and 42-year-old John Smoltz (210).