As Randy Johnson stood on the mound at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday night, Chiba Lotte Marines leadoff hitter Tsuyoshi Nishioka could be forgiven for thinking he dodged a bullet.
Because even though the 208-cm Johnson was towering in front of Nishioka on the rubber, this was a scaled back Big Unit. His intensity replaced by a wry smile and intimidation factor by jeans and a pair of sneakers.
Still, Nishioka should count his lucky stars he was free to take an easy swing at a ceremonial first pitch, rather than have to deal with what Johnson can really bring.