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
They actually swung today. The sooner they get their swings down, the better for me as well. I'm not trying to break bats and strike people out, I'm just trying to throw my pitches and feel like I'm accomplishing something. The more I throw, the better my pitches will get.
I feel pretty good overall. When I'm out there throwing batting practice, it's just what it is, batting practice. To work on my pitches and trying to get something out of it a little bit as far as some intensity.
When you're still making quality pitches in their third time up, you can feel your progression. I faced them three times.
I think every pitcher pitches a little differently when they get out of Colorado, ... He's a different pitcher here and we're really getting the benefits of his performances. He's pitching the way he always knew he could out of that environment.
I was able to get my pitches in and didn't have to extend myself, which is nice. I was just glad that it didn't get postponed. I warmed up and I warmed up good.
I pitch and my teammates expect us to win and for me to put us in a position to win, and I didn't do that. My slider found too much of the middle of the plate. I didn't have a sharp one going down and away. Unfortunately, my pitches were elevated today, and I paid the price.
By staying back I was able to get the arm angle I need for my fastball and my slider, and I haven't had it consistently. To be able to throw 96 and 97 in the eighth inning after throwing 100 pitches is ... is ... me.
I don't need to go out there all the time and throw seven or eight innings. You might like it. I might like it. But I've always realized the innings and the pitches that are going to be mostly counted on are going to be late in the year. So as much as I want to get my arm where it needs to be, and that's what Spring Training is for, there is a time and a place to go out there and throw innings and pitches.
You've got to make your pitches, no matter who you're facing. I did not execute my pitches and paid the price.
The innings and pitches that are going to be mostly counted on are late in the year.
We won 55 ball games in eight years, and that's a good record for anybody. My only regret - that 4-5 season sticks in my craw. I'm retiring as a coach, and I feel good about my retirement.
We control our own destiny. I'm sure it'll come down to those last three games in Boston.
I've pitched some pretty meaningful games, and some games where if we lose, we're done, ... That wasn't the case, but it would have been more difficult. We're three games back right now. It's not insurmountable.
I've pitched some good games this year where I haven't been that animated, that locked in,