Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson
File:Bigunityankees.jpg
New York Yankees – No. 41
Starting pitcher
Bats: Right Throws: Left
debut
September 15, 1988, for the Montreal Expos
Career statistics (through September 11, 2006)
Record	280-146
ERA	3.20
Strikeouts	4531
Former teams
Montreal Expos (1988-1989) Seattle Mariners (1989-1998) Houston Astros (1998) Arizona Diamondbacks (1999-2004)

Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963 in Walnut Creek, California), is a left-handed starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed The Big Unit, he is noted for his stature (at 6 ft 10 in, he was the tallest player in the history of MLB, until the 2002 debut of Jon Rauch) and having one of the most dominant fastballs in the game, regularly approaching 100 mph during his prime. He has won the Cy Young Award five times, second only to Roger Clemens' seven.

Nickname

Perhaps the most infamous fact about Randy Johnson is his nickname, "The Big Unit". During batting practice in 1988, the 6'10" Johnson, then with the Montreal Expos, collided head-first with outfielder Tim Raines, prompting his teammate to exclaim, "You're a big unit!" The nickname has stuck ever since.

Career

By the time he entered Livermore High School, he was a star in baseball, and basketball, and that would continue at the University of Southern California. Since entering the majors, he has been among the most feared pitchers in the game, attributing to his blazing fastball, intimidating appearance (height, wild mullet hairstyle and goatee), and his angry, energetic demeanor on the mound. Part of his early intimidation factor came from his dramatic lack of control; after being traded away to the Seattle Mariners by the Montreal Expos, Johnson led the AL in walks for three consecutive seasons (1990-1992), and in hit batsmen in 1992 and 1993. In July 1991, facing the Brewers, the erratic Johnson allowed four runs on 1 hit, thanks to 10 walks in 4 innings. A month later, a 9th-inning single cost him a no-hitter against Oakland. Johnson suffered another 10-walk, 4-inning start in 1992.

But his untapped talent was volcanic; in 1990, Johnson became the first lefthander to strike out Wade Boggs three times in one game, and a no-hitter against Detroit attested to his potential. Johnson credits a session with Nolan Ryan late in the 1992 season with helping him take his career to the next level; Ryan has said that he appreciated Johnson's talent and did not want to see him take as long to figure certain things out as he had taken. He recommended a slight change in his delivery; Before the meeting, Johnson would land on the heel of his foot after delivering a pitch, and as such, he usually landed offline from home plate. Ryan suggested that he landed on the ball of his foot, and almost immediately, he began finding the plate more consistently. [1] Late in 1992, and after the Ryan meeting, Johnson struck out 18 against Texas, tying the AL record. In May 1993, Johnson again lost a no-hitter to a 9th-inning single; again, the opponent was the Oakland A's.

Johnson broke out in 1993 with a 19-8 record, 3.24 ERA and his first of six 300-plus strikeout seasons (308). He also recorded his 1,000th career strikeout against Minnesota's Chuck Knoblauch; amusingly, Johnson was one foot taller than the Twins' second baseman.

After pitching well in the strike-shortened 1994, Johnson won the American League Cy Young Award in 1995 with an 18-2 record, 2.48 ERA and 294 strikeouts. His .900 winning percentage was the second highest in AL history, behind Johnny Allen, who had gone 15-1 for the Cleveland Indians in 1937. Johnson, who also finished 2nd in the 1993 and 1997 AL voting, and third in 1994, remains the only Seattle Mariners pitcher to win the award.

Johnson capped the Mariners' late season comeback by pitching a 3-hitter in the AL West's one-game playoff, crushing the California Angels' hopes with 12 strikeouts. Thus unable to start in the 5-game ALDS series against the Yankees until the third game, Johnson watched as New York took a 2-0 lead. Johnson beat the Yankees in Game 3 with 10 strikeouts in 7 innings. When the series went the distance, Johnson made a dramatic relief appearance in Game 5 on one day's rest. Entering a 4-4 game in the ninth inning, Johnson pitched the 9th, 10th, and 11th innings. He allowed 1 run, struck out 6, and held on for the series-ending win in Seattle's dramatic comeback.

However, this gutsy week of October 1995 pitching would eventually be forgotten, as Johnson posted an 0-6 playoff record in his next four playoff series, each of which his teams lost. The six consecutive postseason losses tied a major league record, as Johnson began to develop a reputation as a poor "big game pitcher."

Johnson was sidelined throughout much of the 1996 season with a back injury, but he rebounded in 1997 with a 20-4 record, 291 strikeouts, and a 2.28 ERA (his personal best). Between May 1994 and October 1997, Johnson had gone 53-9, including a 16-0 streak that fell one short of the AL record. Johnson had two 19-strikeout starts in 1997, on June 24 and August 8.

In June 1997, Oakland A's slugger Mark McGwire's swing connected perfectly with a Randy Johnson fastball; the result was a rocketing home run into the upper deck of the Kingdome, later estimated at 538 feet. The image of the home run, complete with Johnson swiveling and mouthing the word "Wow," was replayed repeatedly on sports highlight shows. Johnson had 19 strikeouts in the game but lost, 4-1.

1998 was a tale of two seasons for Johnson. He was due to become a free agent at the end of the season but the Mariners' strapped budget prevented them from making any serious offers for a contract extension during the season. Concerns over whether and when he might be traded likely played a role in Johnson's 9-10 record with the Mariners during the early part of that season. His 4.33 ERA during that stretch was his highest in a decade.

Johnson's season turned around on July 31, 1998 when a deadline trade sent him to the Houston Astros for Freddy García, Carlos Guillén, and a player to be named later (eventually John Halama). Houston was in the thick of a pennant race and Johnson's strong arm anchored their rotation. In 11 starts, he went 10-1 with a sparkling 1.28 ERA, leading the Astros to the playoffs. Despite only pitching for a third of a season in the National League, Johnson finished 7th in National League Cy Young Award voting.

Johnson signed one of the largest contracts to that date in the off-season, inking a $53-million, four-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks; a second-year and relatively inexperienced franchise. It is arguably the best free agent signing in baseball history, as Johnson won the NL Cy Young Award in each of the four seasons covered by the contract.

The deal paid immediate dividends for Arizona, as Johnson led the team to the playoffs that year on the strength of a 17-9 record and 2.48 ERA, enough to earn him his second Cy Young Award. Johnson's numbers could have been even more impressive; at one point in the season, Arizona failed to score a run in four consecutive Johnson starts, including a pair of 1-0 losses. Johnson's pitching line in the four starts: 32 innings, 19 hits, 54 strikeouts, a 1.40 ERA... and an 0-4 won-lost record.

The following season, Arizona acquired Curt Schilling from the Philadelphia Phillies, giving Arizona the most feared power pitching duo in the sport.

Johnson and Schilling carried the Arizona Diamondbacks to their first franchise World Series appearance and victory in 2001 against the powerful New York Yankees, in only their fourth year of existence. The two pitchers shared the World Series MVP Award and were named Sports Illustrated magazine's 2001 "Sportsmen of the Year".

Johnson's performance was particularly dominating, pitching 7 innings for the victory in Game 6 and then coming on in relief-- on zero days' rest-- to pick up the win in Game 7. Johnson had already pitched a shutout in Game 2, thus tying the record with three wins in one World Series, and erasing many of the doubts regarding his postseason ineffectiveness.

Johnson's Game 7 relief appearance was his second of the 2001 season; on July 19, a game against the Padres was delayed by two electrical explosions in Qualcomm Stadium. When the game resumed the following day, Johnson stepped in as the new pitcher and racked up 16 strikeouts in 7 innings, technically setting the record for the most strikeouts in a relief stint.

In 2002, Johnson won his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award. Oddly, he also became the only pitcher in baseball history to post a 24-5 record. [2]

Johnson spent the majority of the 2003 season on the disabled list and wasn't effective in the few injury-hampered starts he did make. One thing he did accomplish that year was hit his first career home run in a September 19, 2003 game against the Milwaukee Brewers. It is the only home run to date for Johnson, a career .128 hitter.

On May 18, 2004, Johnson became only the 17th player to throw a perfect game, and at 40 years of age, the oldest. Johnson had 13 strikeouts on his way to a 2-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves. The perfect game made him the fifth pitcher in Major League history (after Cy Young, Jim Bunning, Nolan Ryan and Hideo Nomo) to pitch a no-hitter in both leagues. It also gave him the longest span of any pitcher between no-hitters: 14 years (although the span between Nolan Ryan's first and seventh no hitters was 18 years).

On June 29, 2004, Johnson struck out Jeff Cirillo of the San Diego Padres to become only the 4th person to reach 4,000 strikeouts in a career. On September 15, 2004, Johnson struck out his 4,137th batter (Colorado's Vinny Castilla) to move into third place on the career strikeout list, and break Steve Carlton's record amongst left-handers.

He finished the 2004 season with a 16-14 record, but had a far better season than his won-lost total indicated; the D-Backs scored two or fewer runs in 17 of his 35 starts that season. Johnson led the major leagues in strikeouts (with 290). In the games where Arizona scored three or more runs, Johnson was 13-2. As his team only won 51 games that year, his ratio of winning 31.3% of his team's games was the highest for any starting pitcher since Steve Carlton in 1972 (who won 27 of the Phillies 59 wins for an all-time record ratio of 45.8%). He finished second to Roger Clemens in that year's Cy Young Award balloting. Johnson was unhappy with the D-Backs offense, and demanded a trade.

File:RJ4.JPG

Randy Johnson on the mound

On January 6, 2005, Johnson was traded to the New York Yankees for pitcher Javier Vazquez, pitcher Brad Halsey, catcher Dioner Navarro and $9 million. Johnson pitched Opening Day for the Yankees on April 3, 2005 against the Boston Red Sox. Johnson was inconsistent through 2005, allowing 32 home runs to hitters; however, he regained his dominance in late 2005. Importantly, he was 5-0 against the Yankees' division rival Red Sox. He finished the season 17-8 with a 3.79 ERA and was second in the AL with 211 strikeouts.

Johnson was a disappointment in Game 3 of the 2005 Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, allowing 5 runs on 2 home runs in 3 innings. In Game 5 in L.A., Johnson made an effective relief appearance after Mike Mussina gave up 5 runs and 6 hits to give the Angels a 5-2 lead, but the Yankees were unable to come back in the series. It was Johnson's first relief appearance since Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. After an inconclusive year in pinstripes, New York fans hoped that Johnson would return to his dominant style in his second Yankee season.

Johnson began 2006 well, but then he struggled to find form. In between some impressive performances, he allowed 5 or more runs in 7 of his first 18 starts for the season. Johnson was more effective in the second half. As of September, Johnson has a record of 17-10 with 159 strikeouts; his 4.84 ERA currently stands as the second highest of his career.

Pitches

Johnson combines a blazing 92-97 mph (96-100 mph in his prime) fastball, and a slider which dives down and in at the last second away from lefties and into righties. Due to his height, long arms, and side-arm pitching, the release point of his pitches looks like it is coming from the first base side of the mound, deceiving left-handed hitters especially. He has often dominated lefties with his slider by throwing it away from the plate, inducing many strikeouts. Johnson can also throw the slider inside on right-handed hitters. Sometimes he throws a splitter as a changeup. Opposing hitters have often remarked that, because of his atypical height and release point, it feels as though he's pitching from ten feet closer than he actually is. In a tongue-in-cheek TV sports ad, John Kruk referred to Johnson's best pitch as "Mr. Snappy". Broadcasters such as Steve Stone have picked up on that nickname, using it during gamecasts.

Accomplishments

• 10-time All-Star (1990, 1993-95, 1997, 1999, 2000-02, 2004)
• World Series MVP Award (with Curt Schilling, 2001)
• American League Cy Young Award winner (1995)
• National League Cy Young Award winner (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
• Finished 6th in American League MVP voting (1995)
• In 2001, he became the first pitcher to record three wins in a single World Series since Mickey Lolich, and the 13th overall
• Finished 7th in National League MVP voting (2002)
• Led the league in ERA four times (1995, 1999, 2001, 2002)
• Led the league in wins (2002)
• Led the league in Strikeouts (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004)
• Won Triple Crown (led league in wins, ERA and strikeouts) (2002)
• On August 23, 2002, struck out three batters on nine pitches in the sixth inning of a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Became the 21st National League pitcher and the 30th pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning.
• Struck out 19 batters in a game (June 24, 1997 against Oakland Athletics; August 8, 1997 against Chicago White Sox)
• Struck out 20 batters in a game on May 8, 2001 against Cincinnati Reds; Johnson recorded all 20 strikeouts in the first nine innings, but because the game went into extra innings, it was not categorized by MLB as an "official" 20 strikeout game (Tom Cheney's 16-inning, 21-strikeout game is also listed separately). Baseball has since reversed itself on the game, and now lists Johnson with Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood as 20-K pitchers.
• 4500 career strikeouts (3rd overall)
• 10.86 strikeouts per 9 innings over career (1st overall)
• Career 272-142 record
• Threw no-hitter: June 2, 1990 (Seattle Mariners 2, Detroit Tigers 0)
• Threw perfect game: May 18, 2004 (Arizona Diamondbacks 2, Atlanta Braves 0)
• In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their 1999 book Baseball's 100 Greatest Players. Johnson did not make the original edition, but for the 2005 update, with his career totals considerably higher and his 2001 World Championship season taken into account, he was ranked at Number 60.

Annual salaries

• 1989 Montreal Expos $70,000
• 1990 Seattle Mariners $150,000
• 1991 Seattle Mariners $350,000
• 1992 Seattle Mariners $1,392,500
• 1993 Seattle Mariners $2,625,000
• 1994 Seattle Mariners $3,325,000
• 1995 Seattle Mariners $4,675,000
• 1996 Seattle Mariners $6,025,000
• 1997 Seattle Mariners $6,325,000
• 1998 Seattle Mariners/Houston Astros $6,000,000
• 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks $9,700,000
• 2000 Arizona Diamondbacks $13,350,000
• 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks $13,350,000
• 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks $13,350,000
• 2003 Arizona Diamondbacks $15,000,000
• 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks $16,000,000
• 2005 New York Yankees $16,000,000
• 2006 New York Yankees $16,000,000

Teams

• Montreal Expos (1988-1989)
• Seattle Mariners (1989-1998)
• Houston Astros (1998)
• Arizona Diamondbacks (1999-2004)
• New York Yankees (2005-)

Unusual incidents

Bird beanball

"Bird Beanball"

In a freak accident on March 24, 2001, during the 7th inning of a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants, Johnson threw a fastball that struck and killed a dove. After being struck by the pitch, the bird went over catcher Rod Barajas' head and landed amid a "sea of feathers." The official call was "no pitch."[3] This was only the second time in professional baseball that a thrown baseball had killed a bird: the first one was by New York Yankees outfielder Dave Winfield during a warm-up session in 1983. The Diamondbacks went on to win the game 10-5 without further incident.

Altercation with cameraman

On January 10, 2005, Johnson noticed a CBS New York cameramen had been shooting footage of him leaving a building after taking his physical to finalize the trade that brought him to the New York Yankees. Johnson pushed WCBS-TV cameraman Vinny Everett and told him to not get in his face. Everett replied with the sarcastic comment, "Welcome to New York!" The next day, Johnson apologized for the incident at his press conference that made the trade official. Johnson made the front page of the New York Daily News and the New York Post on January 11. He also appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on the day of his introduction to the Yankees.

Off the field

Johnson guest starred in an episode of The Simpsons, which aired on March 19, 2006. In the episode, Johnson promotes left-handed teddy bears and is met by Ned Flanders at a left-handers convention.

On April 18, 2006, he was named "2nd unsexiest male celebrity" by the Boston-based alternative weekly The Phoenix, behind Gilbert Gottfried.[4]

Personal life

Johnson has four children with his wife Lisa: Samantha (born 28 December 1994), Tanner (born 5 April 1996), Willow (born 23 April 1998), and Alexandria (born 4 December 1999).

On March 28, 2006, the New York Daily News revealed that Johnson has a 16-year-old daughter named Heather Roszell (born 4 September 1989) living in Langley, Washington. The news was made public because of a court petition he filed on 7 February 2006, seeking $97,000 in restitution for daycare costs paid to Heather's mother.

For years, Johnson sported a mullet hairstyle, although now his hair is shorter and better trimmed due to the Yankees' rules banning long hair. He also had to shave his goatee, but wore a mustache until September 7, 2006.

External links

• Baseball Reference.com
• Template:Espn mlb
• MLB.com Player Profile
• Randy beans ma of love child
• Randy Johnson - stats, news, and information from AroundtheDiamond.com
• Randy Johnson at The Internet Movie Database