Randy Johnson

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Randy Johnson

Hall-of-Famers as Seen Through Player Won-Lost Records: Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 2015, with 97.3% of the vote.

Five highlights of Randy Johnson's career:

Randy Johnson threw the first no-hitter in franchise history for both the Seattle Mariners and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the latter of which was a perfect game.

Randy Johnson had seasons with traditional won-lost records of 18-2 (1995), 20-4 (1997), and 24-5 (2002). He also had a record of 10-1 in his partial 1998 season with the Houston Astros. For his career, Randy Johnson had a traditional won-lost record of 303-166.

Randy Johnson led his league in strikeouts nine times. He led Major League Baseball in strikeouts a tenth time, in 1998, which he split between the two leagues. For his career, Randy Johnson struck out 4,875 batters, second most in major-league history. At the time of his retirement, Johnson's career rate of 10.61 strikeouts per nine innings was the most in major-league history for any pitcher with at least 1,000 innings pitched.

In 2001, Randy Johnson struck out 372 regular-season batters and another 47 strikeouts in the postseason, giving him a total of 419 strikeouts in a combined 291 innings pitched.

Randy Johnson won five Cy Young awards, including four in a row from 1999 through 2002. Johnson finished second in Cy Young voting three times and third once.

The first two tables below present Randy Johnson's career as measured by Player won-lost records, in and out of context.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWORL	pWOPA

Basic Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
1988	MON	24	4	1.7	1.3	0.7	0.5
+– 1989		25	29	9.2	10.3	0.4	-0.9
	MON		7	2.2	2.6	0.0	-0.3
	SEA		22	6.9	7.6	0.4	-0.6
1990	SEA	26	33	13.9	12.5	3.3	1.6
1991	SEA	27	33	14.0	13.4	2.6	0.8
1992	SEA	28	31	14.3	15.6	0.8	-1.2
1993	SEA	29	36	17.0	11.3	7.7	5.8
1994	SEA	30	23	11.2	8.4	4.3	2.9
1995	SEA	31	30	16.4	7.4	10.9	9.2
1996	SEA	32	14	3.9	2.6	1.9	1.4
1997	SEA	33	30	16.1	8.4	9.6	7.9
+– 1998		34	34	18.0	14.9	5.9	3.7
	HOU		11	7.6	4.0	4.7	4.0
	SEA		23	10.4	10.9	1.2	-0.3
1999	ARI	35	35	18.4	13.3	8.4	6.5
2000	ARI	36	35	18.5	13.4	8.2	6.2
2001	ARI	37	35	19.0	12.5	9.8	7.7
2002	ARI	38	35	19.0	10.5	11.4	9.5
2003	ARI	39	18	7.5	7.6	1.3	0.3
2004	ARI	40	35	15.2	12.6	5.7	4.0
2005	NYA	41	34	13.1	11.0	4.2	2.5
2006	NYA	42	33	11.6	11.4	2.1	0.5
2007	ARI	43	10	3.5	3.5	0.8	0.3
2008	ARI	44	30	11.5	11.5	2.3	0.9
2009	SFN	45	22	6.8	7.5	0.7	-0.2
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			619	279.8	221.0	102.9	69.8
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			19	7.8	7.4	1.9	0.9
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			638	287.7	228.3	104.8	70.7

Season	Team	Age	Games	eWins	eLosses	eWORL	eWOPA

Expected Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
1988	MON	24	4	1.5	1.6	0.1	-0.0
+– 1989		25	29	9.4	10.0	0.9	-0.4
	MON		7	2.1	2.8	-0.3	-0.6
	SEA		22	7.4	7.2	1.2	0.3
1990	SEA	26	33	12.8	13.5	1.2	-0.5
1991	SEA	27	33	13.8	13.6	2.2	0.4
1992	SEA	28	31	15.3	14.6	2.9	0.9
1993	SEA	29	36	16.7	11.6	7.1	5.2
1994	SEA	30	23	11.8	7.8	5.4	4.1
1995	SEA	31	30	15.6	8.3	9.2	7.6
1996	SEA	32	14	3.6	2.9	1.3	0.8
1997	SEA	33	30	15.4	9.2	8.1	6.4
+– 1998		34	34	18.5	14.4	7.3	5.0
	HOU		11	7.1	4.6	4.0	3.3
	SEA		23	11.4	9.8	3.2	1.8
1999	ARI	35	35	17.6	14.2	6.9	5.0
2000	ARI	36	35	18.2	13.7	8.0	5.9
2001	ARI	37	35	18.5	13.1	9.1	7.0
2002	ARI	38	35	16.7	12.8	7.2	5.3
2003	ARI	39	18	7.5	7.6	1.4	0.4
2004	ARI	40	35	17.0	10.9	9.1	7.4
2005	NYA	41	34	12.8	11.3	3.3	1.7
2006	NYA	42	33	11.9	11.1	2.6	1.0
2007	ARI	43	10	3.7	3.3	1.2	0.7
2008	ARI	44	30	11.8	11.2	2.9	1.5
2009	SFN	45	22	6.3	7.9	-0.2	-1.2
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			619	276.4	224.4	97.2	64.1
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			19	8.6	6.6	3.5	2.5
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			638	285.0	231.0	100.7	66.6

Randy Johnson's career looks outstanding as measured by Player won-lost records. Of course, Randy Johnson's career looks outstanding measured most ways: 303-166 traditional W-L record, 3.29 ERA, five Cy Young awards (and three 2nd-place finishes), 10.6 K/9 IP for his career, 4,875 total career strikeouts, 101.1 career rWAR.

The next table shows the top 25 players in pWins over positional average and replacement level across all seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records.

		pWins over Positional Average Top 25 Players						pWins over Replacement Level Top 25 Players
	Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
1	Babe Ruth	410.9	236.0	161.2	195.2	1	Babe Ruth	410.9	236.0	161.2	195.2
2	Barry Bonds	466.8	310.6	136.5	174.4	2	Barry Bonds	466.8	310.6	136.5	174.4
3	Willie Mays	465.3	329.8	116.5	156.6	3	Willie Mays	465.3	329.8	116.5	156.6
4	Mickey Mantle	354.1	227.5	112.2	141.9	4	Hank Aaron	496.7	369.1	98.5	142.5
5	Ted Williams	373.0	250.0	104.3	136.6	5	Mickey Mantle	354.1	227.5	112.2	141.9
6	Mel Ott	419.7	295.2	103.6	140.8	6	Mel Ott	419.7	295.2	103.6	140.8
7	Lou Gehrig	304.3	183.8	99.6	124.8	7	Ted Williams	373.0	250.0	104.3	136.6
8	Hank Aaron	496.7	369.1	98.5	142.5	8	Roger Clemens	316.9	228.6	94.6	131.3
9	Roger Clemens	316.9	228.6	94.6	131.3	9	Stan Musial	424.1	311.3	88.2	126.2
10	Stan Musial	424.1	311.3	88.2	126.2	10	Lou Gehrig	304.3	183.8	99.6	124.8
11	Joe L. Morgan	371.9	293.9	84.9	117.6	11	Joe L. Morgan	371.9	293.9	84.9	117.6
12	Joe DiMaggio	287.1	193.1	84.5	109.4	12	Greg Maddux	327.2	271.7	77.9	115.0
13	Lefty Grove	261.0	187.5	84.0	112.3	13	Alex Rodriguez	373.8	298.7	81.2	114.9
14	Jimmie Foxx	301.3	200.3	81.9	108.1	14	Warren Spahn	351.1	294.8	74.3	113.8
15	Alex Rodriguez	373.8	298.7	81.2	114.9	15	Lefty Grove	261.0	187.5	84.0	112.3
16	Greg Maddux	327.2	271.7	77.9	115.0	16	Joe DiMaggio	287.1	193.1	84.5	109.4
17	Warren Spahn	351.1	294.8	74.3	113.8	17	Jimmie Foxx	301.3	200.3	81.9	108.1
18	Albert Pujols	359.9	267.3	71.8	104.3	18	Frank Robinson	398.0	302.5	70.9	106.8
19	Mike Schmidt	338.5	257.6	71.0	99.7	19	Albert Pujols	359.9	267.3	71.8	104.3
20	Frank Robinson	398.0	302.5	70.9	106.8	20	Randy Johnson	279.8	221.0	69.8	102.9
21	Eddie Mathews	320.7	240.9	70.5	99.1	21	Rickey Henderson	428.4	350.3	62.5	100.5
22	Randy Johnson	279.8	221.0	69.8	102.9	22	Mike Schmidt	338.5	257.6	71.0	99.7
23	Chipper Jones	336.2	257.6	69.6	98.6	23	Eddie Mathews	320.7	240.9	70.5	99.1
24	Pee Wee Reese	299.9	239.2	68.0	96.0	24	Chipper Jones	336.2	257.6	69.6	98.6
25	Yogi Berra	246.3	182.5	66.1	88.4	25	Tom Seaver	306.9	258.2	65.1	98.6

It's not hard to find tables where Randy Johnson ranks impressively.

Randy Johnson is second in major-league history in total strikeouts with 4,875, and first in major-league history in strikeouts per 9 innings among players with 2,000 or more career innings pitched. The one pitcher in major-league history with more strikeouts than Johnson, Nolan Ryan, struck out 839 more batters than Johnson (in 1,251.1 more innings) but Ryan also walked 1,208 more batters than Johnson. In fact, while Randy Johnson was quite wild as a young pitcher - leading his league in walks three straight seasons in 1990, 1991, and 1992 - he actually developed quite good control in his prime, with, for example, 4 top-10 finishes in fewest walks per 9 innings (in 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2005).

Strikeouts and walks (and hit batsmen) are measured within Component 3 of Player won-lost records. The top 10 pitchers in net career Component 3 pitching wins are presented in the next table.

		Net Component 3 Wins: Pitchers
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	Net Wins
1	Randy Johnson	104.8	47.8	0.687	56.9
2	Roger Clemens	100.9	49.3	0.672	51.7
3	Curt Schilling	65.7	21.6	0.752	44.1
4	Greg Maddux	71.7	29.9	0.706	41.8
5	Pedro J. Martinez	67.6	26.0	0.722	41.5
6	Max Scherzer	58.8	19.8	0.748	39.0
7	Justin Verlander	65.3	27.8	0.702	37.5
8	Fergie Jenkins	67.7	31.5	0.683	36.2
9	Mike Mussina	60.2	24.3	0.713	36.0
10	Zack Greinke	56.6	21.3	0.727	35.4

There you go!

Component 3 of Player won-lost records - which measure player value for plate appearances in which the ball is not put into play - are measured concurrent with Component 4 - which measures basic batter/pitcher value for plate appearances where the ball is put into play (including home runs). In essence, Components 3 and 4 measure pure pitching, completely independent of fielding.

The top 10 pitchers in Components 3 and 4 combined, for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records are shown in the next table.

		Top 10 Pure Pitchers: Net Components 3 and 4 Combined
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	Net Wins
1	Roger Clemens	225.8	166.7	0.575	59.2
2	Greg Maddux	211.3	158.8	0.571	52.4
3	Randy Johnson	197.5	153.5	0.563	44.0
4	Pedro J. Martinez	135.4	93.8	0.591	41.6
5	Lefty Grove	158.8	118.9	0.572	39.9
6	J. Kevin Brown	140.8	104.9	0.573	35.9
7	Gaylord Perry	222.8	188.1	0.542	34.7
8	Nolan Ryan	243.9	211.6	0.535	32.2
9	Mike Mussina	158.6	128.0	0.553	30.5
10	Clayton Kershaw	103.6	74.4	0.582	29.2

Randy Johnson was arguably one of the top five pure pitchers of the past 100 years. Yeah, that's a Hall-of-Famer.

Article last updated: October 13, 2019

All articles are written so that they pull data directly from the most recent version of the Player won-lost database. Hence, any numbers cited within these articles should automatically incorporate the most recent update to Player won-lost records. In some cases, however, the accompanying text may have been written based on previous versions of Player won-lost records. I apologize if this results in non-sensical text in any cases.

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