Big news from the Big Unit: 46-year-old Randy Johnson announced his retirement, concluding his career with a record of 303-166, a 3.29 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. His five Cy Young Awards – one with the Mariners and four in a row with the Diamondbacks – rank him behind only Roger Clemens, and his 4,875 career strikeouts are second only to Nolan Ryan. He was a 10-time All-Star, starting the Midsummer Classic four times – twice for each league. Johnson made history in 2004 when he became the oldest player – at 40 – to throw a perfect game.
The Big Unit
15 January 2010
4 June 2008
The Big Unit has six 300-plus strikeout seasons, his best an ungodly 372 at age 37, in only 249-2/3 IP. Nolan Ryan's best year, 383 at the age of 26, took him 326 innings. That number barely edged out Sandy Koufax's 382 (the only other pitcher in the modern era to eclipse Johnson in this category), and that took the dazzlingly untouchable lefty 335-2/3 innings, and at the age of 29, in the season before he retired. These are the only two players to throw more Ks in a season than Randy, and they did it early in their careers, not the tail end.
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