Following up on the Pearlman thing, here’s a link to a lengthy story from 2002 by the legendary Pat Jordan in the New York Times. It’s a profile of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling during their Diamondback heyday.
It’s a nice compare and contrast. Jordan doesn’t sugarcoat Johnson’s surly demeanor. He’s definitely a hard man to get to know and a harder one to like. But unlike Pearlman, he at least tries to understand it and puts it in an understandable context.
After reading it, ask yourself: did Jeff Pearlman ever actually try to get to know Randy Johnson before calling him an “pathetic human being” and a “punk?” Or did he simply walk up to him on a day he pitched and expect him to open up his world to some writer with an obvious contempt for his subjects?