Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson
Randall David "Randy" Johnson, nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1988 to 2009 for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. His 303 career victories rank as the fifth-most by a lefthander in major league history, while his 4,875 strikeouts place him second all-time behind Nolan Ryan and are the most by a lefthander. He holds five of the seven highest single-season strikeout totals by a lefthander...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth10 September 1963
CityWalnut Creek, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I'm tired of people questioning me because of my age. If you looked at my numbers and watched me throw and covered my birthdate, would age be an issue?
Nolan Ryan helped me with baseball, and my dad passing away gave me a bigger heart.
I expect to win. I've never been content with anything I've ever done.
I had a long conversation with Steve Carlton. He told me that on the days he pitched, he felt it was his responsibility to make everyone around him better, to lift his teammates. Thats what I try to do.
Tiger Woods, Larry Bird, Wayne Gretzky, a pitcher just before a game, I would imagine they all have nervous energy. But as you perform, the nervous energy dissipates and you start to relax and you start to do what you do best.
When you can throw 97 miles an hour and put the ball over the plate anytime you want, it's fun.
When I was younger and inexperienced, I was a very animated pitcher. I pitched with a lot of adrenaline. I was my own worst enemy when things weren't gong well.
Work hard. And have patience. Because no matter who you are, you're going to get hurt in your career and you have to be patient to get through the injuries.
The key is you don't want Damon to get on base any way. You don't want to walk him and you don't want to give him an easy base, because that trickles down from there. Then you get into the No. 2 hitter, and you get into all their power. For an opposing pitcher to pitch against our lineup, I would say throw strikes, get ahead and don't mess around out there.
The innings and pitches that are going to be mostly counted on are late in the year.