Cy Young Profile: Randy Johnson, 1995

Pitcher, Seattle Mariners

Age:  32 (Sept. 10)

7th season with Mariners (6^th complete)

Bats – Right, Throws – Left

Height: 6’10” Weight: 225 

Prior to 1995:

A native of California, Johnson starred in baseball and basketball in high school. He received a scholarship to USC for both sports and was originally drafted as an amateur by the Braves in 1982, without signing a contract. Johnson spent three seasons playing college baseball and was drafted by Montreal in 1985, this time signing. With his great pitching speed, he moved up quickly through the minor league system, where he worked on his control. Johnson made his first major league appearance with the Expos late in the 1988 season and started four games, compiling a 3-0 record and 2.42 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 26 innings. Off to a 0-4 start in 1989, “The Big Unit” was traded to Seattle in May and went 7-9 in 22 starts with his new club and had a 4.40 ERA. In 1990, Johnson pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history against Detroit as part of a breakout season in which he compiled a 14-11 record with 3.65 ERA and continued to struggle with his control while leading the AL with 120 walks to go along with 194 strikeouts in 219.2 innings. He was also chosen to his first All-Star Game. Continuing to improve, Johnson accumulated over 200 strikeouts for the first time in 1991 (228) and led the league for the first of four consecutive years with 241 in ’92 (the last of three straight seasons in which he topped the circuit in walks). He was again an All-Star in 1993, a year in which he compiled a 19-8 record and was 13-6 during the strike-abbreviated 1994 season.

1995 Season Summary

Appeared in 30 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 30

Games Started – 30 [13, tied with six others]

Complete Games – 6 [4, tied with David Cone & Tim Wakefield]

Wins – 18 [2, tied with David Cone]

Losses – 2

PCT - .900 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 3 [2]

Innings Pitched – 214.1 [4]

Hits – 159

Runs – 65

Earned Runs – 59

Home Runs – 12

Bases on Balls – 65

Strikeouts – 294 [1]

ERA – 2.48 [1]

Hit Batters – 6 [12, tied with twelve others]

Balks – 2 [3, tied with thirteen others]

Wild Pitches – 5

League-leading win percentage was +.150 ahead of runner-up Erik Hanson

League-leading strikeouts were +89 ahead of runner-up Todd Stottlemyre

League-leading ERA was -0.47 lower than runner-up Tim Wakefield

Midseason Snapshot: 9-1, ERA - 2.88, SO - 152 in 109.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 16 (in 9 IP) vs. Toronto 7/15

10+ strikeout games – 16

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) at Baltimore 6/5, (in 9 IP) vs. Toronto 7/15, (in 9 IP) vs. NY Yankees 8/26, (in 9 IP) vs. California 10/2, (in 8 IP) vs. Texas 9/18, (in 7 IP) at KC Royals 8/11

Fielding

Chances – 32

Put Outs – 7

Assists – 24

Errors – 1

DP – 0

Pct. - .969

Postseason Pitching: G – 4 (ALDS vs. NY Yankees – 2 G; ALCS vs. Cleveland – 2 G)

GS – 3, CG – 0, Record – 2-1, PCT – .667, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 25.1, H – 17, R – 9, ER – 7, HR – 2, BB – 8, SO – 29, ERA – 2.49, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star (Started for AL)

6^th in AL MVP voting (111 points, 28% share)

AL Cy Young voting (top 5):

Randy Johnson, Sea.: 136 points – 26 of 28 first place votes, 97% share

Jose Mesa, Clev.: 54 points – 2 first place votes, 39% share

Tim Wakefield, Bos.: 29 points – 21% share

David Cone, Tor./NYY: 18 points – 13% share

Mike Mussina, Balt.: 14 points – 10% share

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The Mariners went 78-66, in the strike-shortened season, to finish tied for first in the AL Western Division with the California Angels, which necessitated a season-extending single-game playoff. They defeated the Angels 9-1, as Johnson pitched a complete game, allowing just 3 hits and striking out 12 batters to record his 18^th win. Seattle clinched the AL West title with a final record of 79-66. The pitching staff led the league in strikeouts (1068). The Mariners lost star CF Ken Griffey Jr. due to a broken wrist in May but went 24-11 to close out the season after Griffey’s return that was soon followed by his game-winning home run against the Yankees on August 24. They overcame a 12.5-game deficit to catch the slumping Angels and force the playoff. Won ALDS over the New York Yankees, 3 games to 2, as Johnson won twice, once in relief in the deciding fifth game.  Lost ALCS to the Cleveland Indians, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of 1995:

In 1996 major back surgery limited “The Big Unit” to eight games, but he rebounded with a 20-4 record and 291 strikeouts in ’97. With talk of a trade swirling throughout the 1998 season, Johnson got off to a 9-10 record and 4.33 ERA before being dealt to the Houston Astros at the trade deadline. He helped his new club to a division title with a 10-1 record and 1.28 ERA. Entering the free agent market, Johnson signed a four-year contract worth $52 million with the second-year Arizona Diamondbacks in 1999. He had an excellent season for Arizona in ’99, posting a 17-9 record while leading the NL in ERA (2.48), strikeouts (364), innings pitched (271.2), and complete games (12), garnering another Cy Young Award. The team topped the NL West, although the Diamondbacks lost to the Mets in the NLDS. “The Big Unit” followed up with another Cy Young Award-winning season in 2000, compiling a 19-7 record with 347 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA for the 85-77 Diamondbacks. Johnson made it three straight Cy Young awards in 2001, going 21-6 with a 2.49 ERA and 372 strikeouts. He created a productive tandem with RHP Curt Schilling, and Arizona went on to win the World Series, in which Johnson and Schilling were co-MVPs, with Johnson winning Game 7 in relief. Johnson was recipient of another Cy Young award in 2002 following a 24-5 tally and a 2.32 ERA with 334 strikeouts. The Diamondbacks fell short in the postseason but “The Big Unit” was re-signed. Knee surgery cut short his ’03 season and Johnson dropped to 6-8 with a 4.26 ERA.  Off to a 3-4 start at age 40 in 2004, Johnson pitched a perfect game against Atlanta. He went on to a 16-14 record and a 2.60 ERA and league-leading 290 strikeouts. Looking to shed salary in 2005, the Diamondbacks dealt Johnson to the New York Yankees where he won another 34 games over two seasons before returning to Arizona in 2007. Johnson spent 2007 and ’08 with the Diamondbacks before finishing out his career with San Francisco in 2009. For his major league career, Johnson appeared in 618 games, 603 of which were starts, and compiled 303 wins and 166 losses with a 3.29 ERA and 4875 strikeouts, the second highest total in MLB history to date. His record with Seattle alone was 130-74 with a 3.42 ERA and 2162 strikeouts.  He added another 14 wins in the postseason against 18 losses. He compiled five 300-strikeout seasons, was chosen to ten All-Star Games and won five Cy Young awards (one in the AL and 4 in the NL with the Diamondbacks). Johnson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. His #51 was retired by the Diamondbacks.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.