PHOENIX — Ballparks all over the country showcase images of their franchise icons, but not many display photographs taken by them.
Chase Field has opened a photo gallery from the lens of Randy Johnson in their Hall of Fame and History Museum behind center field.
“A lot of people might think that as soon as I retired from baseball I just got into photography,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “I actually studied photography at USC while I was playing baseball.”
Before the Hall of Fame pitcher was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1985, he worked for the Daily Trojan at USC as a student photojournalist for about two years. He still possesses photos he took of a rock concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1982 when The Clash opened for The Who.
The Diamondbacks are displaying a gallery of Randy Johnson’s photography in their Hall of Fame and history museum in CF.
Here’s Johnson on his passion for photography: pic.twitter.com/YoYpeF2Ejd
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) April 22, 2025
When Johnson became a pro baseball player, his photography took a backseat.
After 22 MLB seasons, five Cy Young awards, 4,875 strikeouts and a World Series win, Johnson retired following the 2009 season. That gave him the time to travel and reignite an old passion.
Johnson said he traveled to about 20 destinations between his retirement and the COVID-19 pandemic with his camera. He recently made a trip to Japan, but he’s also ventured throughout Africa, Europe and Asia.
“I just enjoy traveling and documenting my trips and taking as many pictures as I can and sharing them with people,” Johnson said. “The one thing that I got when I had my exhibit in Cooperstown was people were coming up to me after they experienced the exhibit, they said that they enjoyed looking at the photos so much that it inspired them to maybe take a trip to Africa.”
In 2023, Cooperstown’s Fenimore Art Museum exhibited a series of Johnson’s photos from trips to Africa, the first time he’d ever seen his work enlarged and on display. It was a moment he appreciated, and The Big Unit has since published a coffee table book.
The gallery at Chase Field is smaller and will be up for the rest of the season. A shot of a leopard in a tree is at the forefront, and there are QR codes with further explanations of each photo. They are set up in the middle of the room, around franchise artifacts and pictures from Johnson’s playing days.
After reaching the pinnacle of pitching, Johnson found a new art to master.
“I think, talking to other photographers that are light years ahead of me and and that I’d really admire their work, you got to put time into your craft,” Johnson said.
“I gave all of my time and all of my effort to baseball and that paid off. To have something that I can have fun with, it’s just a passion. It just keeps me out of trouble and it keeps me occupied and keeps my mind going. And I can share it with people. I think the greatest gratification I got out of this was sharing it with people.”
Johnson has remained involved with the Diamondbacks as a special assistant, which he continues to do as a way of giving back to an organization he feels so connected to.
The D-backs as an infant franchise after its inaugural year signed Johnson as a free agent, and the left-hander went on a dominant run of four straight Cy Young seasons. He’s been synonymous with the club in many ways for most of its existence.
“I’ve given everything I ever had to baseball,” Johnson said. “There’s some examples in this room. Now I come by and I help when I’m asked and I talk to the people that want to listen and I enjoy that still very much.”
At the same time …
“I could go away and never be seen again and I would be happy with that because I’d have my camera and I’d be seeing more of what I’ve never seen before,” he added.
