Early in Randy Johnson's career, not many people would have guessed he'd one day be on the cusp of being a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. That is, unless they'd paid close attention to his second career start.
2015 Hall of Fame profile: Randy Johnson
The Big Unit is a virtual lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Here’s why.
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Johnson, a lanky 25-year-old Southern California alum receiving his first cup of coffee with the Expos, went into Wrigley Field and dominated a decent Cubs team on Sept. 20, 1988. The 6'10 left-hander threw a 130-pitch complete game, striking out 11 batters and walking only one in his second big league victory. Johnson had control problems throughout his college and minor league careers, but a devastating fastball-slider combination -- coupled with his general lack of an idea where his pitches might end up -- contributed to the "Big Unit" quickly becoming one of the most-feared hurlers in the game.
It took a while for the intimidation factor to translate into sustained success. Johnson opened the 1989 season with 26 walks and 26 strikeouts in his first 29⅔ innings. Perhaps spooked by the control issues, the Expos shipped Johnson to the Mariners in May in exchange for Mark Langston. The veteran Langston was great in his lone season in Montreal, while Johnson showed flashes at times in his first season in Seattle but was ultimately below-average.
Johnson walked more batters than any pitcher in the American League in each season from 1990 through 1992, but his overall results began improving. In his third big league season, at age 27, things really started coming together. Johnson struck out 10.2 batters per nine innings in 1991 and raised it to 10.3 in ‘92. As offense began to climb to unprecedented levels league-wide, Johnson established himself as an ace in 1993 by posting a 135 ERA+, largely aided by his walks-per-nine-innings dropping from 6.2 to 3.5. That trend continued, and thus began one of the best runs ever put together by a major league pitcher.
Of course, being a part of one of the funniest plate appearances in All-Star Game history didn’t hurt Johnson’s ascension to stardom:
In a 10-year stretch from 1993-2002, Johnson struck out 12 batters per nine innings, posted a 169 ERA+ and, for those who care about this sort of thing, won 175 games. He also won five Cy Young awards and a World Series title -- accomplishments of which precisely nobody can argue the legitimacy.
Career Highlights
22 years (1988-2009)
Teams: Expos, Mariners, Astros, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Giants
5-time Cy Young winner
10-time All-Star
2 career no-hitters
1 perfect game
2001 World Series MVP
3.29 ERA, 135 ERA+
303 wins
4,875 strikeouts (2nd all-time)
104.3 career bWAR
82.0 JAWS (9th among P)
Johnson's first Cy Young came in 1995, when he carried the Mariners to their first-ever postseason berth behind a league-leading 193 ERA+ and 294 strikeouts in 214⅓ innings. The team was eventually forced to trade him to the Astros in an effort to get something for the dominant southpaw before he inevitably tested the free-agent market. That spawned one of the greatest half-seasons ever seen in baseball. Johnson made 11 starts in Houston and allowed just 12 runs in 84⅓ innings, good for an unheard-of 322 ERA+. He punched out 116 batters and walked just 26 en route to finishing in seventh place in the NL Cy Young voting despite spending only two months in the league.
The Diamondbacks snatched up Johnson in free agency following that season, giving the star pitcher a four-year, $52 million contract. The hefty deal paid immediate dividends. Johnson won his second Cy Young in 1999, and followed with three more -- in a row. In his third season in the desert, Johnson -- along with Curt Schilling -- pitched the D-backs to the promised land, winning the World Series in the team's fourth year of existence. Johnson and Schilling were named co-MVPs of the Series. That year, Johnson struck out a career-high 13.4 batters per nine innings; he fanned 20 in nine innings in a single game in May, but the contest went to extra innings and so he doesn't officially hold a share of that single-game MLB record. He also provided baseball fans with another cult-like moment in spring training, before any of that even happened:
So, let’s review Johnson’s Hall of Fame credentials:
- Elite regular season statistics: Check
- Excessive amounts of hardware: Check
- Championship: Check
- Provider of legendary moments: Check
Something’s missing. Oh, yeah -- postseason success. Naturally, Johnson was good in that category as well. He wasn’t the otherworldly dominant force that he proved to be during the regular season, but Johnson finished his career with a 3.50 ERA, 132 strikeouts and 32 walks in 121 postseason innings. During Arizona’s championship run, Johnson whiffed 47 batters and walked just eight in 41⅓ innings spanning six appearances. He won both of his NLCS starts and both of his World Series starts, and after throwing seven frames in Game 6 of the Series he came in to record the final four outs in Game 7 to earn the win and clinch a ring.
Before leaving Arizona, Johnson pitched his second no-hitter, this one a perfect game against the Braves in 2004. That was about the time he became a near-elite control pitcher, walking only 1.6 batters per nine innings in his final season with the Diamondbacks. After turning 40, Johnson maintained a walk rate of 2.1 per nine innings, helping make up for his diminishing ability to strike hitters out. It also allowed him to hang around the big leagues until the age of 45. Thanks to his longevity, he joined the 300-win club while with the Giants in 2009, which almost certainly cemented his status as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
There was the unfortunate incident in which Johnson had a run-in with a paparazzo upon his arrival in New York, but that cameraman is probably one of the few people in the world who thinks Johnson doesn’t deserve a spot in Cooperstown. Aside from that, the Big Unit has one of the best cases we’ve ever seen, and there isn’t a sane one to make against him.
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