Along the Way: Setting sights on Cooperstown

The magic number combination for Randy Johnson is 5-5-6.

Baseball’s Eiffel Tower will pitch next summer for the San Fancisco Giants and if he stays healthy, he’ll get the five more wins he needs to reach 300.

Five years after he hangs up his cleats, the 6-foot-10 southpaw will be elected to the Hall of Fame. This honor is never routine, but Johnson is so deserving, his induction is just a matter of time.

And the number “six?”

Well, that has to do with the team logo on the cap of Randy’s bust in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y.

Which team will the Big Unit represent in Cooperstown?

So far he has his pick of six. It might reach seven ... or eight ... or who knows how many?

The Giants will be Johnson’s sixth major league employer. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks twice.

Let’s look at his road well traveled:

In 1988 and briefly in ‘89, he wore the uniform of the Montreal Expos.

In 1989 through most of 1998, he was with the Seattle Mariners.

For 11 games in 1998, he was paid by the Houston Astros.

From 1999 through 2004, he pitched for the Diamondbacks.

In 2005 and ‘06 he was a New York Yankee.

Johnson returned to Arizona for the seasons of 2007 and ‘08.

And now he’s headed to the City by the Bay.

Nobody gets six statues of himself at the Hall of Fame, so at some point, Johnson will have to make a happy decision.

Let’s hope it’s the Diamondbacks, a team he led to a dramatic 2001 World Series championship over the Yankees.

But if it’s a matter of longevity, the honor would go to the Mariners. Johnson pitched in 274 games for the Seattle team, winning 130. He pitched 233 games for the Diamondbacks and won 118.

He won 34 games in 67 tries for the Yankees. He picked up 10 victories for the Astros and three for the Expos.

When the 2009 season begins, Johnson will have been on more teams than Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson, the first two pitchers elected to the Hall of Fame, combined. Mathewson pitched for the Giants from 1900 to 1916. He won the only game he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in 1916. Johnson pitched his entire career, 1907-1927, for the Washington Senators.

Another interesting factor is age. Johnson, at 45, is older than all five of the original Hall of Famers, in the class of 1939. Ty Cobb was 41 when he retired, Babe Ruth 40, Honus Wagner 43, Mathewson 35 and Walter Johnson 39.

As of this month, 287 individuals have been elected to the Hall of Fame, including 200 players, 35 Negro League players, 18 managers, eight umpires and 26 pioneers, executives and organizers.

Election is by the Baseball Writers Association of America or the Veterans Committee. Players with 10 years’ experience are eligible, five years after retirement.

Johnson fills every qualification. The 300 wins are a personal goal.

And the team logo he chooses for his statue in Cooperstown? Let’s just hope it’s the Diamondbacks.