FanHouse Charlie Hayes

I covered Randy Johnson as a beat writer for eight seasons: 1999-2004 with the Diamondbacks and then 2005-06 with the Yankees. (We both moved East the same winter, by coincidence.)

So I figure I saw about 230 of Johnson's starts – hey, I deserved a day off once in a while – and more than 100 of his 300 wins. Off the top of my head, here are the top 10 Randy Johnson moments I witnessed in those eight years:

1. Perfection (May 18, 2004)
Twenty-seven up, 27 down at Atlanta. And after this game, Johnson even smiled. His 117th and final pitch, a called strike to Eddie Perez, was 98 mph. His 14 strikeouts were second-most ever in a perfect game, and at 40, he was the oldest ever to be perfect. "I don't think my stuff has been any better than it was today," Johnson said.

Milton Bradley had a reputation for being both volatile and a malcontent, so when he exploded in anger at umpire Mike Winters on Sunday, most people assumed Bradley was in the wrong. As it turns out, though, Winters in no stranger to controversy himself. From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

In June 1998, the Giants' Charlie Hayes snapped after hearing from Winters.

"He told me to go (expletive) myself," Hayes told the San Francisco Chronicle. "The next one who says that to me, I'm hitting in the mouth."
[...]
One half-inning after Hayes protested a strike call by Winters, the two argued as Hayes walked toward third base. Winters ejected Hayes, words were exchanged and Hayes charged the ump. It took several Giants to restrain Hayes, who was wrestled to the ground by manager Dusty Baker.

It's been nine years, but Winters probably experienced deja vu on Sunday -- it's remarkable how similar the two incidents played out, with both players being thrown to the ground by their managers. So what does this mean? Nothing, really. Winters has presided over hundreds of games in the past nine years, and if this is the worst dirt the media could find on him, he's doing a good job staying out of the spotlight.