Randy Johnson reveals why he went into the Hall of Fame as a Diamondback

Seattle Mariners fans felt betrayed in 2015 when Randy Johnson chose to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The towering lefty had, after all, played in the Emerald City from 1989 to 1998 and was a member of the 1995 team that captured the franchise’s first American League West title and nearly reached the World Series before falling in six games to the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS.

BetAmerica ambassador Glendon Rusch asked Johnson about his controversial decision on a recent episode of The Rusch Hour, and the 10-time All-Star didn’t hold back.

"I think it was hard for people to understand why I went in as an Arizona Diamondback and not as a Seattle Mariner," Johnson freely admitted. "It was because the body of work was far greater than in Seattle. A Seattle fan might not see it that way, you know. They remember ’95. That was so important to them, and it was important to me, because it was me doing that and my teammates, but that was just scratching the surface."

In fairness to Johnson, he experienced far more postseason success in Arizona, where the D-backs won division titles in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2007 and were World Series champions in 2001. The Walnut Creek, CA native also achieved more personal milestones in the desert.

"Winning one Cy Young in Seattle and winning four in Arizona, just the body of work was a little bit greater," he said. "I think it was harder for some people in Seattle to understand that, but I’ve never forgotten it, and I’ve always included Seattle as one of the greatest cities that I’ve ever played in, and without them I would never have been where I was in my career."

Listen to Glendon’s full hour-long conversation with Randy Johnson here.