"You could've knocked me over with a feather!"
Of all the billions and billions of birds in this world, the unluckiest of these will forever be the seagull that just happened to intersect air space with a Randy Johnson fastball once upon a time on a field, and in a game, now reasonably forgotten as to game day particulars.
What we are likely to remember almost as much on the general impression level is what happened to all the big league pitches he threw in twenty-two years that didn’t bring “death to flying things” nor delay the actual playing of games. These ultrasonic “K” pitches only delayed and derailed the individual career hopes and team victory aspirations of whoever found themselves batting against Randy Johnson.
When year in and year out, otherwise superior hitters start playing some games just to keep from getting killed more than anything else, a manager has to know that he’s got a special weapon in his starting rotation when he sends a fellow named Randy Johnson out there to pitch. Several fortunate big league managers, including the Houston Astros own Larry Dierker, got to have that reassuring experience. Aside from J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros in an earlier era of primal batter’s fear, Randy Johnson probably was the scariest pitcher that anyone in the big leagues ever had to face.
Beyond human fear installation and avian assassination, Randy Johnson got positive game outcome results, big time.
Look at his base record. Res ipse loquitur.
The 6’10” lefty Randy Johnson has finished his MLB career (1988-2009) with a record of 303 wins, 166 losses, an ERA of 3.29, and 4,875 strikeouts as a starter for the Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks (twice), New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants.
A surefire first-time selection for the Hall of Fame in five years never walked this tall into the tiny village of Cooperstown, New York.
Tags: Baseball, History, Randy Johnson
The Pecan Park Eagle 
January 10, 2010 at 4:34 am |
Bill
Johnson was great but not quite as great as your numbers suggest. He had 166 losses, not 106.
Bill Gilbert
January 10, 2010 at 5:19 am |
Bill
Thanks. My 106 first call was a typo. I’ve corrected RJ’s loss total to 166.
Bill McCurdy