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Randy Johnson

Grief Strengthens His Game

Johnson's mother convinced him not to leave baseball. To remind him of his father, he drew a cross and the word "Dad" on the palm of his glove. When troubled by feelings of weakness on the pitcher's mound, he would glance at these symbols. "My heart got bigger," Johnson told Sports Illustrated. "After my dad died, I was convinced I could get through anything. I don't use the word 'pressure' anymore. That's for what he [his father] went through. Life or death. I use the word 'challenge.' And I'll never again say, 'I can't handle it.' I just dig down deeper."

Johnson got help in overcoming his control problem from ace pitcher Nolan Ryan and Tom House, the pitching coach of the Texas Rangers. As a young pitcher, Ryan had experienced similar problems, and he saw a lot of himself in Johnson. The help from Ryan and House worked wonders, and in 1993 Johnson enjoyed his best season ever, going 19-8 with an ERA of 3.24. He tied an American record for left-handed pitchers when he struck out eighteen batters in a single game. The following year Johnson compiled an enviable 13-6 record with an ERA of 3.19 before a players' strike ended the season in August.

Career Statistics

Yr Team W L ERA GS CG SHO IP H R BB SO
ARI: Arizona Diamondbacks; HOU: Houston Astros; MON: Montreal Expos; SEA: Seattle Mariners.
1988 MON 3 0 2.42 4 4 0 26.0 23 7 7 25
1989 MON 0 4 6.67 6 0 0 29.7 29 22 26 26
SEA 7 9 4.40 22 2 0 131.0 70 64 70 104
1990 SEA 14 11 3.65 33 5 2 219.7 174 89 120 194
1991 SEA 13 10 3.98 33 2 1 201.3 151 89 152 228
1992 SEA 12 14 3.77 31 6 2 210.3 154 88 144 241
1993 SEA 19 8 3.24 34 10 3 255.3 185 92 99 308
1994 SEA 13 6 3.19 23 9 4 172.0 132 61 72 204
1995 SEA 18 2 2.48 30 6 3 214.3 159 59 65 294
1996 SEA 5 0 3.67 8 0 0 61.3 48 25 25 85
1997 SEA 20 4 2.28 29 5 2 213.0 147 54 77 291
1998 SEA 9 10 4.33 23 6 2 160.0 146 77 291 213
HOU 10 1 1.28 11 4 4 84.3 57 12 26 116
1999 ARI 17 9 2.48 35 12 2 271.7 207 75 70 364
2000 ARI 19 7 2.64 35 8 3 248.7 202 73 76 347
2001 ARI 21 6 2.49 34 3 2 249.7 181 69 71 372
2002 ARI 24 5 2.32 35 8 4 260.0 197 67 71 334
TOTAL 224 106 3.06 426 87 34 3008.3 2310 1023 1231 3746

Awards and Accomplishments

1982 Pitched perfect game in his last outing for Livermore High School
1990 Pitched no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers
1992 Led the major leagues in strikeouts
1993 Struck out 18 batters in a single game
1993-94 Led the major leagues in strikeouts
1995, 1999-2002 Cy Young Award
2001 Named Co-MVP of World Series

Related Biography: Pitching Coach Tom House

In the struggle to overcome his problems with ball control, Johnson got some valuable tips from world-famous pitching authority Tom House during the early 1990s. At the time House was pitching coach for the Texas Rangers. To show his gratitude for House's help, Johnson later wrote the foreword to House's Fit to Pitch, published by Human Kinetics in 1996.

House, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology, pitched professionally for the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, and Seattle Mariners between 1967 and 1979. He began his career as a pitching coach in 1980 and has worked in that capacity for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, and Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines. House is also the founder of Absolute Performance Group, which integrates sports science and sports technology with the health and fitness needs of the everyday individual. He travels extensively and serves as the information and instruction coordinator for twelve baseball academies across the United States and Canada.

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsBaseballRandy Johnson Biography - Born In Walnut Creek, California, Drafted By Montreal Expos In 1985, Chronology, Grief Strengthens His Game - CONTACT INFORMATION, SELECTED WRITINGS BY JOHNSON: