Big Unit retires after 22 seasons
SAN FRANCISCO – Randy Johnson is retiring after 22 Major League Baseball seasons.
The overpowering lefty known as the Big Unit, who last June became the 24th pitcher in MLB history to win 300 games, made the expected announcement on Tuesday on a conference call.
“I really wanted to go out on my terms,” Johnson said. “I just feel like there’s not a lot more for me to do in this game. I just think it’s a natural progression when you play this long. Eventually you have to say it’s time.”
A five-time winner of the Cy Young Award as MLB pitcher of the year, the 46-year-old Johnson accomplished just about everything in his remarkable career.
He won a World Series and co-MVP honor, and was a 10-time All-Star. He threw two no-hitters, including a perfect game, and ranks second on the career strikeout list.
The 6-foot-10 (2.09-meter) Johnson finishes with a career record of 303-166 and 4,875 strikeouts in 4,135 1-3 innings for Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona, the New York Yankees and San Francisco. His strikeouts are the most by a left-hander and second to Nolan Ryan’s 5,714.
Johnson overcame four knee operations and three back surgeries to keep pitching at a high level into his mid-40s. (AP)
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