“Who is the greatest pitcher of all-time?” This is a question that has certainly been asked enough times, but what’s interesting is the lack of consensus. The names that get thrown around typically include some combination of Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Christy Mathewson, and perhaps Roger Clemens, depending on how we’re all feeling about PED use on that given day. Cy Young will occasionally get an honorary O.G. mention, but the candidates usually don’t extend beyond that group. A name we don’t often hear in the mix as the pitching GOAT is Randy Johnson. This isn’t to suggest that The Big Unit has been disregarded; it is commonplace to find him among the top-10 on pitching lists. However, there is a pretty significant disconnect between “the top 10” and the straight fire that is on Johnson’s resume. We can blame that disconnect squarely on our obsession with baseball’s past. The Big Unit’s only sin is that he wasn’t born 70 years earlier. There is no other explanation for why he isn’t a perennial contender for not only the greatest pitcher of all-time but also the greatest player of all-time. Yes, even on a list that features several paragraphs talking about how Randy Johnson is historically underrated, he’s quite possibly underrated here as well.
Before we take a deep dive into the numbers, let’s first establish the competition level Johnson faced compared to the other GOAT candidates. Aside from Clemens, all the pitchers listed above played during segregation. Not only were there no black players, but there were also no Asian players and very few Latinos (most were forced to play in the Negro Leagues), Canadians (43 of the 45 Canadian MLB All-Star selections have come since 1940), and Jewish players (all 71 Jewish All-Star selections came after 1936). Imagine how much easier it would be to succeed as a pitcher in today’s game if black, Latino, Canadian, Asian and Jewish players were either largely, or completely, excluded. Johnson’s already stellar ERA would shine even brighter like a diamond in a world without diversity. No Barry Bonds. No Albert Pujols. No Manny Ramirez. No Miguel Tejada. No Carlos Beltran.
We also have to recognize that while W. Johnson, Mathewson, Alexander, and Young pitched in the dead-ball era, Johnson’s career landed him right smack dab in the middle of the steroid era, home to the greatest single-season home run totals in MLB history. Then comes the adjustment for league size. In 1910 a pitcher would need to be better than only 39 other starting pitchers to be considered the best in the league (assuming five-man rotations intact for the season). Today, a pitcher needs to be better than 74 other starting pitchers to achieve the same distinction. Any fair comparison between Randy Johnson and the aforementioned Hall of Fame pitchers needs to place “degree of difficulty” front and center. Anything less would be uncivilized.
Now that we’ve unintentionally made the case for every pitcher who pitched in the 90s, let’s delve into the numbers so we’re not anointing someone simply for pitching in one of the most turbulent eras in baseball history. Let’s see if we can do this in one breath…
1). Randy Johnson won five Cy Young Awards, and finished second three times. Only Roger Clemens equals his combined total of eight first and second-place finishes.
2). Johnson won four consecutive Cy Young Awards. Greg Maddux, also with four, is the only other player to win at least three in a row.
3). Johnson is the only player in MLB history to win a Cy Young Award in each league and finish 2nd in each league.
4). He led the league in adjusted ERA+ six times. Only Lefty Grove and Clemens led the league more often.
5). He led the league in Hits/9 six times. Only Nolan Ryan led the league more often.
6). He led the league in winning % four times. Only Grove led the league more often.
7). He led the league in strikeouts nine times. Only Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan led the league more often.
8). He is the only player since 1920 to lead the league in ERA+ and strikeouts six times in the same season.
9). He’s the only pitcher since the dead-ball era to have led the league in complete games four times and ERA+ six times.
10). He is the only player since 1920 to have led the league in WHIP three times and strikeouts nine times.
11). Johnson and N. Ryan are the only pitchers to lead the league in strikeouts for four consecutive seasons on two different occasions.
12). Johnson and N. Ryan are the only two pitchers to record 300+ strikeouts in four consecutive seasons.
13). Of pitchers who pitched a minimum of 2,500 career innings, Randy has the highest K/9 in history.
14). He holds the record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning start and most strikeouts in a relief appearance.
15). He led the league in WAR for pitchers six times. Only Grove, Clemens, and W. Johnson led the league more often.
16). He led the league in Win Probability Added (WPA) four times. Only Clemens and Grove led the league more often.
17). He’s 2nd on the all-time strikeout list.
18). He’s one of only four pitchers to reach 300 wins among players who debuted after 1967.
19). Among players to debut since 1967, only Clemens has more shutouts.
20). He is one of only seven players in MLB history to pitch a perfect game and a no-hitter.
21). He’s the only pitcher in MLB history to lead the league in winning % four times and throw two no-hitters.
22). He’s the only pitcher in MLB history to lead the league in ERA+ six times, strikeouts six times (again, he did it nine), and throw two no-hitters.
23). He led the league in War for Pitchers four consecutive seasons. The last time a pitcher accomplished that was in 1954 (Robin Roberts).
(I’m starting to think trying to do this in one breath was a bad idea. Before some of us start passing out, let’s quickly hit the playoffs with the shared understanding that we could continue this exercise for another 2,000 words. Deal? Deal.)
24). Johnson had one of the greatest postseason performances in the history of baseball when he—and Curt Schilling—led Arizona to a World Series victory over the Yankees in 2001. In 41.3 postseason innings that year, he went 5-1 with two shutouts, a 1.53 ERA, and a .77 WHIP. Having pitched Arizona to victory in game six, he entered game seven on one day rest to get the final four outs.
25). He holds the record for most wins in a single postseason.
26). He is the only pitcher since 1968 to win three games in a single World Series.
27). He is the only pitcher in MLB history with four Cy Young Awards (he has five) and a World Series MVP.
Based on performance relative to the league, the pitchers who pop up the most alongside Randy Johnson are Lefty Grove and Roger Clemens. Grove played before integration. He also played in a league roughly half the size, making Randy’s league-leading accomplishments far more impressive. Clemens is a different monster altogether, largely due to peak longevity. Johnson didn’t start pounding out elite seasons until he was 29. Although that underscores just how dominant he was after the age of 30, it is also the reason for Clemens’ massive 22 (years) to 12 (years) edge in career peak length. If we’re taking resumes at face value, then it’s hard to choose anyone other than Clemens as the pitching GOAT. If we start to discount accomplishments due to PED use, then Johnson inches closer to the throne. Regardless of whether we choose to weigh PED use or not, there is no reasonable explanation for Randy Johnson to rank any lower than second on the all-time pitching list. While I currently have him listed as #6 on the all-time list, it would not be totally unreasonable to suggest that he’s the greatest baseball of all-time, especially if we were to discount Bonds and Clemens due to reported PED use, and prorate Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Lou Gehrig for playing in substantially less competitive eras.