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?
When I'm healthy, I can still pitch. I know I can still pitch at that level and get the results that I want.
A lot of heavyweights, with the exception of a few Eastern Europe fighters, they really look like being a heavyweight is just like, who can eat the most Pizza Hut and McDonalds.
Any time I've taken the mound, it's always been the old Samson-and-Goliath story written about me.
I've refined my mechanics, refined my pitches. I've gotten more confidence, and I've gotten more determination. I've got a better idea what I'm doing out there.
We're at the crossroads, ... where we need to win to stay alive.
The word 'potential' used to hang over me like a cloud.
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.
When you win, you want more of it. You can't win enough.
With all the adversity this team has been through, it's very gratifying to see how things panned out for everybody. It's pretty satisfying considering I haven't been as consistent as I'd like to be, and to still win 17 games ... that's pretty satisfying.
Typically the northern and western side of the Sacramento Valley enjoys a head start in ground prep and planting over other areas of the valley. My son and I drove up I-5 to Willows and were amazed at the amount of water and its depth out in the fields. Usually this time of the year in this part of the valley, tractors are everywhere preparing the fields for planting.
You get a little bit over the rubber, rushing a little bit, and then your arm seems to drop down. It's been a long process, a long year, a frustrating year. But that's been the problem and I'll continue to work on it.
When you're still making quality pitches in their third time up, you can feel your progression. I faced them three times.
Unfortunately, it took a long time to fix my mechanics, ... That's the pitcher everyone expected. That's the pitcher I expected. Today my velocity was up because my mechanics were much better.