1963
Born September 10, 1963
Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Randy Johnson Marquee Hall of Fame 2015
b. September 10, 1963 · Montreal Expos 1988–1989, Seattle Mariners 1989–1998, Houston Astros 1998, Arizona Diamondbacks 1999–2004, 2007–2008, New York Yankees 2005–2006, San Francisco Giants 2009
Only two players in the archive stood taller than his 6 feet 10 inches, and the release point that height gave him made left-handed hitters miserable. He struck out 372 batters in 2001, a total only Nolan Ryan in 1973 and Sandy Koufax in 1965 have beaten since 1900, and he led his league nine times.
He was slow to become this pitcher. He walked 152 batters in 1991 and 144 in 1992, could not repeat his delivery, and did not win more than 14 games in a season until 1993, when he was 29. From that point he struck out 290 or more nine times.
Arizona signed him for 1999, and he won the Cy Young Award in each of his first four seasons there, five in his career. The Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series and he shared the most valuable player award for it with Curt Schilling. On May 18, 2004, at 40, he pitched a perfect game, older than any other pitcher who has thrown one. Cooperstown elected him in 2015.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 10 | 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 |
| Player of the Week | 9 | 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 6 | 1990, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 |
| Cy Young Award | 5 | 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 4 | 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002 |
| MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher | 2 | 1995, 2000 |
| Babe Ruth Award | 1 | 2001 |
| Bob Feller Act of Valor Award - HOF Player | 1 | 2019 |
| Triple Crown (pitching) | 1 | 2002 |
| This Year in Baseball Performance of the Year | 1 | 2004 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1995 |
| World Series MVP | 1 | 2001 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | MON | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .111 |
| 1989 | MON/SEA | 29 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .143 |
| 1990 | SEA | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | SEA | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | SEA | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | SEA | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | SEA | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | SEA | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | SEA | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | SEA | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | HOU/SEA | 34 | 39 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | .077 |
| 1999 | ARI | 35 | 97 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 0 | .124 |
| 2000 | ARI | 35 | 83 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 35 | 0 | .157 |
| 2001 | ARI | 35 | 80 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 38 | 0 | .100 |
| 2002 | ARI | 35 | 89 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 40 | 0 | .135 |
| 2003 | ARI | 18 | 36 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | .194 |
| 2004 | ARI | 35 | 80 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 37 | 0 | .125 |
| 2005 | NYY | 34 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2006 | NYY | 33 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .167 |
| 2007 | ARI | 10 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .067 |
| 2008 | ARI | 30 | 50 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 26 | 0 | .140 |
| 2009 | SFG | 22 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | .077 |
| Career | — | 619 | 625 | 20 | 78 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 19 | 296 | 0 | .125 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | MON | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 26.0 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 2.42 |
| 1989 | MON/SEA | 7 | 13 | 29 | 28 | 0 | 160.2 | 147 | 86 | 96 | 130 | 4.82 |
| 1990 | SEA | 14 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 219.2 | 174 | 89 | 120 | 194 | 3.65 |
| 1991 | SEA | 13 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 201.1 | 151 | 89 | 152 | 228 | 3.98 |
| 1992 | SEA | 12 | 14 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 210.1 | 154 | 88 | 144 | 241 | 3.77 |
| 1993 | SEA | 19 | 8 | 35 | 34 | 1 | 255.1 | 185 | 92 | 99 | 308 | 3.24 |
| 1994 | SEA | 13 | 6 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 172.0 | 132 | 61 | 72 | 204 | 3.19 |
| 1995 | SEA | 18 | 2 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 214.1 | 159 | 59 | 65 | 294 | 2.48 |
| 1996 | SEA | 5 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 61.1 | 48 | 25 | 25 | 85 | 3.67 |
| 1997 | SEA | 20 | 4 | 30 | 29 | 0 | 213.0 | 147 | 54 | 77 | 291 | 2.28 |
| 1998 | HOU/SEA | 19 | 11 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 244.1 | 203 | 89 | 86 | 329 | 3.28 |
| 1999 | ARI | 17 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 271.2 | 207 | 75 | 70 | 364 | 2.48 |
| 2000 | ARI | 19 | 7 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 248.2 | 202 | 73 | 76 | 347 | 2.64 |
| 2001 | ARI | 21 | 6 | 35 | 34 | 0 | 249.2 | 181 | 69 | 71 | 372 | 2.49 |
| 2002 | ARI | 24 | 5 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 260.0 | 197 | 67 | 71 | 334 | 2.32 |
| 2003 | ARI | 6 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 114.0 | 125 | 54 | 27 | 125 | 4.26 |
| 2004 | ARI | 16 | 14 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 245.2 | 177 | 71 | 44 | 290 | 2.60 |
| 2005 | NYY | 17 | 8 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 225.2 | 207 | 95 | 47 | 211 | 3.79 |
| 2006 | NYY | 17 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 205.0 | 194 | 114 | 60 | 172 | 5.00 |
| 2007 | ARI | 4 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 56.2 | 52 | 24 | 13 | 72 | 3.81 |
| 2008 | ARI | 11 | 10 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 184.0 | 184 | 80 | 44 | 173 | 3.91 |
| 2009 | SFG | 8 | 6 | 22 | 17 | 0 | 96.0 | 97 | 52 | 31 | 86 | 4.88 |
| Career | — | 303 | 166 | 618 | 603 | 2 | 4135.1 | 3346 | 1513 | 1497 | 4875 | 3.29 |
On this day & linked events
1988
Major-league debut: Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson made a major-league debut on September 15, 1988.
1990
Randy Johnson's No-Hitter
Randy Johnson threw a no-hitter for the Seattle Mariners against the Detroit Tigers on June 2, 1990, winning 2–0.
1999
José Jiménez's No-Hitter
José Jiménez threw a no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 25, 1999, winning 1–0.
2004
Randy Johnson's Perfect Game
Randy Johnson threw a perfect game for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Atlanta Braves on May 18, 2004, winning 2–0.
2009
Final major-league game: Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson played a final major-league game on October 4, 2009.