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 was used to a few reporters in Phoenix who would walk by in passing and asked me how I was feeling. Here, I had 10 guys asking me about two innings in spring training.
It's spring training and we want to see what's working, there's going to be games or innings where I decide to just work on this pitch or that pitch, even if we get racked around. Six games, there's not a lot of time to work on everything. I've got a job to do and I just need to go out there and do things and get ready to do it when the bell rings.
Got my work in today, I'll move on and just continue to try and get better every time I go out there. By the end of spring training hopefully I'll be pleased with where I'm at.
I feel it's been a very productive spring training for me. Things kick in when you're facing major-league hitters and you're pitching in front of 40,000 to 50,000 people.
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.
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,
The stuff?s there, obviously. It?s been there all year. It?s been in hibernation.
I've been at this a long time, and it's time to sort of step back. I've been doing this for 34 years. When you're looking at the watch to see what time to end practice, that's pretty much an indication that it's time to sort of kick back.
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.
Felt great, ... Still a little bit of kryptonite in my back, though.
The results will be higher income and property tax.