THE BIG UNIT - RANDY JOHNSON
Randy Johnson
Probably no one put more fear into left handed batters in recent history than "The Big Unit", Randy Johnson. Standing 6' 10" tall with a blistering fastball reaching over 100 mph many times, he also had a devastating slider, Randy called "Mr. Snappy", that would appear to be coming right at the batter. Batter's probably got worried by also remembering some of Randy's control problems at times. I got a kick out of John Kruk during the 1993 All Star game when he had some heart palpitations when curve ball got away from Randy and went right over John's head (
video clip). And Larry Walker during the 1997 All Star game, when he switched to batting right handed after Randy's curve ball flew over his head (
video clip). Here are some of his achievements:
- 303 career victories rank a 5th most by a left-hander in MLB history.
- 4,875 strikeouts place him 2nd all-time behind Nolan Ryan, and most by a left hander.
- 5 of seven highest single-season strikeout totals by a left-hander.
- 5 time Cy Young Award winner, second only to Roger Clemens' seven.
- One of two pitchers (the other being Greg Maddux) to win Cy YOung Award 4 consecutive times (1999-2002).
- In 1999 he joined Pedro Martinez and Gaylord Perry in winning the award in both the American and National Leagues.
- One of 5 pitchers to pitch no-hitters in both leagues.
- At age 40, on May 18, 2004, he became oldest pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game.
- One of 18 pitchers in history to record a win against all 30 MLB franchises.
- Won the pitching Triple Crown in 2002 (see earlier post The Triple Crown of Pitching: An Overview).
- Won the World series with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
- One of two World Series MVP players in 2001, the other being Curt Schilling).
- Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, hist first year of eligibility.
There were many other credits, but I remember him as a Mariner.
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