Johnson, Randy (1963-…), is a former professional baseball player. A dominant left-handed pitcher, Johnson starred for six different teams over 22 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons from 1988 to 2009. He finished his career with 303 wins and 4,875 strikeouts—the second most strikeouts (after Nolan Ryan) in MLB history. Johnson won five Cy Young Awards as the best pitcher in his league, including four straight in the National League from 1999 through 2002. Known as the “Big Unit,” Johnson was one of the tallest players in MLB history, standing 6 feet 10 inches (208 centimeters) tall. His size and powerful fastball made him one of baseball’s most intimidating pitchers. Johnson, a 10-time All-Star, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Randall David Johnson was born on Sept. 10, 1963, in Walnut Creek, California, and attended the University of California from 1982 to 1985 on both basketball and baseball scholarships. He was signed by the Montreal Expos in 1985 and pitched in the minor leagues until 1988, when he made his major league debut with the Expos. Montreal traded Johnson to the Seattle Mariners in 1989. Seattle traded Johnson to the Houston Astros in 1998. After the 1998 season, Johnson signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was traded to the New York Yankees in 2005. The Yankees traded Johnson back to Arizona in 2007. Johnson pitched his final two seasons with the San Francisco Giants.
Johnson led the major leagues in strikeouts nine times and retired with the highest strikeout percentage (10.6 per 9 innings) in MLB history. He also led MLB in walks three times and in hit batters twice, and he threw 109 career wild pitches. In 2001, Johnson won three games in the World Series, helping the Diamondbacks defeat the Yankees four games to three. His greatest season came with the Diamondbacks in 2002, when he led the National League in wins (24), earned run average (2.32), innings pitched (260), and strikeouts (334). Johnson pitched two no-hit games during his career, one of which was a perfect game he threw at age 40 in 2004.
