Against the Atlanta Braves, the Big Unit tossed the 17th perfect game in MLB history.
Heading into 2004, Randy Johnson was coming off one of the worst years of his career. He dealt with injuries and several sub-par performances in 2003. Many pondered if retirement was imminent as he approached 40. On this day in 2004, the Big Unit put any doubts about his abilities to bed by throwing the 17th perfect game in MLB history.
Johnson’s career was marked by dominance and longevity, so it’s fitting that he’s the oldest pitcher to throw ever a perfect game. The previous oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game was Cy Young, who was 37 when he threw the third-ever perfect game on May 5, 1904.
The toughest out of the night for Johnson might have been the game’s first batter. Shortstop Jesse Garcia tried to bunt his way on and nearly beat it out, but was tagged out while diving into first base by Shea Hillenbrand.
From there, Johnson struck out four of the next five batters faced. One of those punch-outs came in an 11-pitch at-bat against Johnny Estrada, which was also the longest at-bat of the night.
He finished the game with 13 strikeouts. The feat is the third-most in a perfect game (Sandy Koufax and Matt Cain each had 14). His most frequent victim? Future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, who struck out in all three at-bats. The only Braves players to not strike out were Mark DeRosa and Andruw Jones.
Johnson’s catcher that night was Robby Hammock, who was making just his 48th career start behind the plate. It was only the ninth time he’d ever caught Johnson, though the pair had shared success in their limited time together. Hammock caught three straight Johnson starts in September 2003, a season in which Johnson largely struggled. In those three starts, Johnson went 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 23 innings.
That prompted Hammock to earn a sort of personal catcher role for Johnson in 2004. He caught Johnson for 15 straight starts from April 26 to July 9, making only 22 starts otherwise during that span. The two developed a strong rapport, and Hammock even got a shout-out during Johnson’s Hall of Fame speech in 2015.
“There were a lot of catchers in my career over 22 years,” Johnson said. “I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to pitch to so many. Dan Wilson, Damian Miller, and that game in Atlanta wouldn’t have been perfect without Robby Hammock. Thank you.”
It was a meaningful acknowledgment for Hammock, who spent parts of six seasons in the majors, all with Arizona.
“You realize how fortunate you are that you got to be a part of it,” Hammock said to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert in 2016. “It’s something you feel, but it’s hard to explain it.”
The 2004 season marked the last time Johnson was truly dominant since he led the majors in strikeouts (290) and WHIP (0.90) and finished second in Cy Young Award voting.
