Brian Johnson’s first MLB win is about perseverance

The new school baseball guys who went to school much more recently than the old school guys have a different way of looking at the game than their older counterparts. Specifically, the stats they look at are different when assessing a player’s performance (but then again, watching a player play is the best way to truly appreciate their talent). Even if it’s not a stat everyone likes, Brian Johnson reached a big milestone this past Tuesday when he got his first career MLB win.

Was it a great outing? Honestly, no, not really. He allowed four runs in five innings on two home runs and seven hits while walking three and striking out six. Let’s remember though, wins are a run-support based statistic. Even so, it doesn’t take away from the milestone for Johnson, nor what it took for him to get there.

He’s had some bad luck these past few years, so let’s go over everything. Earlier this April, he got hit in the head with a line drive while pitching for the PawSox, but he was OK. It wasn’t like the time he got hit by a line drive at Futures at Fenway in 2012 and got his orbital bone broken. Oh yeah, and he got hit by a throw while on the mound in college.

Last year, Johnson missed time battling anxiety. The winter prior, he got carjacked at gunpoint in his hometown. And if we go back to 2015, he was injured before he made his MLB debut, but he was trying to pitch anyways because he knew he could be in line for a big league call-up. Oh, and if he were healthy, he would’ve gotten starts the last few months of the season–not Henry Owens. He’s got better command than Owens.

So yeah, he went through a lot to make it there…