Last night in the nation’s capitol, 45-year old Randy Johnson won his 300th career game, making him the newest member of a very rare club of Hall of Fame pitchers. In 140 years of professional baseball, only twenty-three other hurlers have reached the 300 win plateau.
The last pitcher to reach 300 games was Tom Glavine, who did it in August of 2007. (The first player to do it was James “Pud” Galvin, who won his 300th on June 4, 1888.) Johnson is the sixth lefty to win at least 300 wins, joining Glavine, Steve Carlton, Warren Spahn, Lefty Grove, and Eddie Plank.
After the game, the Big Unit reflected upon his accomplishment. “I think it kind of hit me when I walked on the field. It’s a long-range achievement. It’s not a one-game or a one-year achievement, it’s a career achievement. Who knows how many teammates I’ve had over my 21 years, but they had a great deal to do with my success. I’m going to think about this for a long time.”
Next Stop Cooperstown
Considering that Johnson will be 46 years old by season’s end and has had three back surgeries in the last decade, it is likely that this will be his last year. Whenever he chooses to retire, one thing is for sure: Johnson’s resume makes him a stone cold lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In addition to his 300 wins, the Big Unit has done the following:
He has already struck out 4,845 hitters, which ranks second to Nolan Ryan's 5,714.
Johnson topped the 300 strikeout mark in six different seasons, a record matched only by Ryan. In 2001, he struck out a career-high 372 batters, the third highest in history (behind Ryan’s 383 in 1973 and Sandy Koufax’s 382 in 1965).
Johnson's 10.64 strikeouts per nine innings is the best in baseball history.
In 10 All-Star game appearances, the Unit posted an earned run average of 0.75 and struck out 12 batters in 12 innings.
In the 2001 World Series against the New York Yankees, the Unit was 3-0 with a 1.04 ERA, and shared Series MVP honors with teammate Curt Schilling.
On June 2, 1990, Johnson threw his first career no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers.
Fourteen years later, on May 18, 2004, Johnson pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves. At 40 years old, he became the oldest man to throw a perfect game
He won four ERA titles (1995, ’99, ’01, ’02), and finished second three times (’97, ’00, ’04).
In an era where the complete game seems to be rarer than a Don Mattingly error, Johnson is the active career leader in complete games with 100.
Johnson also won five Cy Young awards (including four in a row from 1999 through 2002). In four other seasons, he finished second in voting. His nine finishes in the top two are the best in history.
That’s quite a list, and it’s far from exhaustive. With those kinds of numbers, Johnson will surely be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
