Baseball is in the air in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with the Little League World Series going on. The Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Conference decided to carry on that theme with their Grand Slam Breakfast and special guest speaker, Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.
Johnson has great reverence for the area and was excited to be in town las week for such a momentous occasion. Most of his talk centered around parenting advice.
Johnson shared stories about raising his own kids and stressed that giving them space was an important component.
“One thing I can truly say is that parents want the best for their children, but my son didn’t want to pitch, he was in the shadow of me, unfortunately,” Johnson said. “Sometimes as a parent, if your child has a calling that’s greater, let them play other sports because I guarantee you I benefited from playing other sports. I learned other things to take back to baseball. It all came together.”
Johnson also answered questions from the audience about his baseball career. In addition to the speaking engagement, he was in town to serve as Grand Marshall of the Little League World Series and closed his remarks with words of wisdom to the tournament participants.
“This is the beginning,” he said. “You are ahead of all the other children. You are representing your town now, your region … your country. You are on the path to getting where you want to go. It’s going to be hard work.”
Johnson won 303 games over a 22-year major league career and his 4,875 strikeouts rank second in baseball history. He won the Cy Young Award five times, which also places him second all-time, and was selected to ten All-Star teams.
Johnson was the oldest player to ever throw a perfect game and one of just seven to toss both a no-hitter and perfect game. He led the league in strikeouts nine times and ERA four times.
One of the pinnacles of his career was winning World Series co-MVP honors and leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a championship in 2002. His number is retired by the Diamondbacks and he is also a member of the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame.
To inquire about the speaking fee and appearance cost for Randy Johnson, contact the agents at Athlete Speakers by calling us at 800-916-6008 or by Starting Your Booking Request Now.
