Big Unit recalls father’s wisdom in speech

TEMPE, Ariz. — When Randy Johnson was in high school, there were times he felt his dad was picking on him.

Instead, Bud Johnson was teaching his son an important lesson, one that Randy shared during a deeply personal acceptance speech last week while being inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

Johnson won four National League Cy Young Awards from 1999-2002 while pitching for the D-backs and was the co-MVP of the 2001 World Series, which saw the D-backs defeat the Yankees in seven games.

In 2015, Johnson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot.

“My success was based on [my teammate’s] success,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t an individual sport that I was playing. … I had a lot of great teammates, a lot of great coaches, a lot of great trainers and support at home from my kids, my wife, friends and teammates.”

As well as some hard-earned wisdom, courtesy of his father.

When Bud asked his son to mow the lawn, he wanted it done well. If he asked his son to take out the garbage — well, then, make sure to take all the garbage out. Don’t leave some at the bottom of the can.

“What he was trying to instill in me, …

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