Randy Johnson, First-Ballot Hall Of Famer
Randy Johnson is one of the greatest pitchers of all time. He’s struck out more batters than anyone except Nolan Ryan, and the closest active hurler still trails him twice over. He’s got the best K/9 ratio of all time. And now, as of today, he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
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The 2015 Hall of Fame class was announced this morning, and there weren’t any real surprises. Pedro Martinez is in. Craig Biggio is in. John Smoltz is in. And The Big Unit is in, too, with flying colors.
Johnson was named on 97.3% of ballots, smashing past the 75% threshold for entry. This is the eighth-highest percentage ever, and the names in front of him are a who’s-who of baseball’s best: Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken, Jr., Ty Cobb, George Brett, Hank Aaron, and Tony Gwynn. That’s the company kept by Randy Johnson these days.
Randy’s in the Hall because he was one of the best to ever do it. He really got going in Seattle, where he had his breakout 1990 and his next-level 1991. ’91 was his first season with a double-digit K/9 rate. It would be 2003 before he ended a year with less than ten strikeouts per nine frames – and that year he was at 9.87. The season after he was right back at 10.62.
Johnson’s best season with the Mariners was 1995, when he posted a 2.48 ERA and 2.08 FIP over 214.1 innings while striking out 12.35 per nine. That was a 9.5 WAR season, but it wasn’t his best. He was equally good, if not better, in each of the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Which, along with a World Series title and four consecutive Cy Young awards, is why he won’t be wearing an M’s cap in the Hall.
Edgar Martinez, since you’re wondering, saw a slight bump this year, up from 25.2% a year ago to 27% today. There’s hope, but it’s going to be a long journey. Others have climbed this mountain before. Here’s hoping the best DH ever can do it next.
Edgar may not be the first Mariners hat-wearer in the Hall, and Randy Johnson probably won’t, either. But Randy really “feels” like a Mariner, and he’s now one of the most dominant vote-getters en route to the Hall, ever. Randy’s in. All may not be right with the world, but Randy Johnson is in the Hall of Fame.
I remember when The Big Unit called it a career, having just posted a 4.88 ERA with the 2009 Giants. That was a 0.3 WAR year. Right after his announcement, Matthew Carruth wrote this for FanGraphs, showing that there was still plenty of reason to expect Johnson to be a star-level pitcher at age 46. That’s absurd, and wonderful. Welcome to Cooperstown, Randy Johnson.