No Two Ways About It Johnson Dominates Cy Young Balloting
Eight months ago, the Seattle Mariners had scouts scouring the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system for can’t-miss prospects - the kids they planned to acquire in the Randy Johnson trade.
“Johnson was coming off a good season, the Mariners probably could have gotten two, three prospects,” a Dodgers executive said Tuesday. “The guy we wanted in trade was a pretty fair pitcher with a lot of potential, but it was still just that. Potential.”
One month after the best season in Mariners history ended, the biggest postseason continued and Johnson - the Big Unit - won the American League Cy Young Award that forever stripped away that “potential” tag.
“If we traded him today,” Seattle scout Ken Compton said, “it would have to be for Babe Ruth. The greatest pitcher in baseball for the greatest hitter in baseball. That sounds fair.”
Once the clown prince of the staff, the 32-year-old Johnson continued his emergence in 1995 and became what scouts, teammates and fans - and the voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America - considered the most dominant pitcher in baseball.
Named on each of the 28 ballots, Johnson blew away the Cy Young Award competition as if they were another handful of hitters, taking 26 of the 28 first-place votes to overwhelm his competition.
“You’d have to go back decades to find a pitcher who meant as much to the success of his team as Randy meant to the Mariners,” team president Chuck Armstrong said. “We’re excited, pleased and proud.”
To say nothing of relieved. Back in April, team owners had given the Seattle front office an ultimatum: Cut one big salary. Unable to find interest in either Chris Bosio or Edgar Martinez - who went on to win the A.L. batting title - the Mariners talked to teams about swapping Johnson.
“I think this falls into the category of the greatest deals never made,” one Mariners official said. “When ownership decided to stay with the players we had, a lot of teams were disappointed.”
The tallest pitcher in major-league history, the 6-foot-10 Johnson has longed for the respect given others and chafed over recognition of his strikeouts and walks, not his wins.
“Since the ‘93 season, after I lost my dad, I dedicated myself to being the best pitcher I could be,” Johnson said. “I matured, I worked, and my heart got bigger. When I go to the mound, I consider myself a warrior.”
In a strike-shortened 144-game season, Johnson posted stunning numbers for a team that had never had a significant September - and helped lead the Mariners to their first American League West title.
Over his 30 regular-season starts, Johnson was 18-2 with a 2.48 earned-run average and 294 strikeouts in 214-1/3 innings.
Gracious in victory, Johnson said he wished he could break his award into pieces and share it with his teammates, his family and the fans who warmed to the Mariners’ pennant race.
“This was a huge year for me personally, for the franchise and for the city of Seattle,” he said.
A happy-go-lucky free spirit when Seattle acquired him in 1989 from Montreal for pitcher Mark Langston, Johnson’s off-field antics - he often wore a conehead and a funny-nose-and-glasses disguise in the dugout during games - and a propensity for high-octane wildness built his reputation as a hard-throwing flake.
His first three full seasons in Seattle, Johnson led the A.L. in walks by a wide margin, while compiling a 46-44 record. Since opening night, 1993, however, Johnson is 50-16.
After the All-Star break, Johnson went 9-1 - 5-0 in September and October - and pitched a complete-game victory in the one-game playoff with the California Angels that decided the A.L. West championship.
Against the Yankees in the five-game division series, Johnson was 2-0.
“I couldn’t ask for more than what I’ve received over the last four, five years, on or off the field,” Johnson said. “I have a wife and daughter who love and support me, I’ve got great teammates, a wonderful manager. This award means a lot to me, but it wouldn’t have meant nearly as much if we hadn’t won this year.