Smoked Bird Club: Gallen, Johnson 'fowl' balls link DBacks' 2 World Series runs
On May 17, 2023, current Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen drew comparisons to former DBacks star and first-ballot Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with his 2.35 ERA at the time, or even his 6-1 record through nine starts.
It mostly had to do with repeating one of the most bizarre things Arizona's franchise had ever witnessed on a baseball field. Gallen drilled not a batter, but a bird, with a throw during warmups at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
It was eerily similar to when Johnson smoked a bird of his own back on March 24, 2001, during a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants. That became such a viral sensation that Johnson's photography company eventually went with a dead bird for its logo. Neither bird lived, but DBacks' World Series aspirations could never have been more alive in each of the seasons this happened.
In 2001, the DBacks went to their first World Series in just their fourth season in existence. Johnson starred throughout the year, winning 21 games along with his third consecutive National League Cy Young award and an ERA Title. The southpaw's dominance carried over into the postseason in particular, where he posted an unreal 1.52 ERA and .171 opponent batting average.
The fireballer raised his game to an even higher level in the World Series, sharing co-MVP honors with Curt Schilling after Johnson went 3-0 in three appearances (two starts) and recording a 1.04 ERA while striking out 19 in 17 1/3 innings. After pitching seven innings in his Game 6 start, Johnson came out of the bullpen on no rest to retire the last four Yankees batters of Game 7.
Arizona won the World Series, and now Gallen has the chance to follow in Johnson's footsteps, just months after a bird incident of his own.
The DBacks have made it back to the World Series for the first time since Johnson's heroics. Gallen was a National League Cy Young contender himself, ranking second in the National League in wins (17), second in innings pitched (210), third in strikeouts (220) and third in wins above replacement (5.2).
Arizona takes on the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic, as both wild-card teams look to continue Cinderella runs after defying the odds — and their division winners — to get to the big stage. The birds better stay clear of the field of play this time around, but it's hard to blame anyone for wanting to get close to the action when pitchers of Johnson and Gallen's caliber take the mound for Arizona.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DBacks' World Series runs linked by Randy Johnson, Zac Gallen 'fowl' balls
