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| Birth Name(s) : Randy Johnson |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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| Profession:
Athlete |
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Full Randy Johnson Biography
4,636Teams
- Montreal Expos (1988-1989)
- Seattle Mariners (1989-1998)
- Houston Astros (1998)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (1999-2004, 2007-present)
- New York Yankees (2005-2006)
The 6-foot-10 Johnson has been celebrated for having one of the most dominant fastballs in the game. He regularly approached, and occasionally exceeded 100 miles per hour during his prime. However, his signature pitch is a hard, biting slider which he once named "Mr. Snappy". Johnson has won the Cy Young Award five times, second only to Roger Clemens' seven.
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.
When the series went the full five games,the Mariners having come back from an 0-2 deficit to win both games at the Kingdome, Johnson made a dramatic relief appearance in the series final, Game 5, on only 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. To this day Mariners fan vividly recall Johnson's slow walk to the pitcher's mound from the left-field bullpen with the sold-out Kingdome crowd standing and roaring in unison. This was easily the single most dramatic piece of the Mariner's franchise history.
Johnson finished 2000 with 19 wins, 347 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA, and won his second NL Cy Young Award. Just as importantly for the Diamondbacks' future, the team acquired Curt Schilling from the Philadelphia Phillies in July 2000, giving Arizona the most feared power pitching duo in the sport of baseball at the time.
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". For the first of two consecutive seasons, Johnson and Schilling finished 1-2 in the Cy Young balloting.
Johnson's performance was particularly dominating, pitching seven 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 post-season ineffectiveness. Of Arizona's 11 post-season wins in 2001, Johnson had five.
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.
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 June 29, 2004, Johnson struck out Jeff Cirillo of the San Diego Padres to become only the fourth MLB player to reach 4,000 strikeouts in a career.
Johnson missed most of April rehabbing his injured back, before returning on April 24, 2007. Johnson allowed six runs in 5 innings and took the loss, but struck out seven. He returned to form, and by his tenth start of the season was among the NL's top ten strikeout pitchers. But on July 3, his surgically repaired disc from the previous season was reinjured. Johnson had season-ending surgery on the same disc, this time removing it completely. Reporting that the procedure went "a little better than expected," Arizona hopes Johnson will be ready for the 2008 season.
In the prime of his career, Johnson combined a blazing 96-98 mph fastball and a slider that broke down and away from left handed hitters and down and in to right handed hitters. In later years, he threw fastballs that averaged 90-93 mph, but he is still capable of throwing a 97 mph fastball.
Due to his height, long arms, and side-arm pitching, Johnson's pitches appear as if they are coming from the first base side of the mound, easily deceiving left handed hitters. This deceives the hitter into thinking that Johnson is pitching from closer than he actually is. However, with the decline in his fast ball's velocity, right handed batters have had greater success in noticing his release point and hitting his pitches.
For years, Johnson sported a mullet hairstyle. Prior to acquiring Johnson for the Diamondbacks in 1999, manager Buck Showalter had a rule banning long hair. He said nothing to Johnson about cutting his hair, drawing criticism from other players. When he agreed to be traded to the Yankees, Johnson trimmed his hair and shaved his goatee in compliance with the Yankee team rules; he continued to wear it short even after being traded back to the Arizona Diamondbacks. |
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