The Inhuman Peak of Randy Johnson

Creator: @SRSMike
X: / srsmike
Randy Johnson signed with the Diamondbacks entering his age 35 season and somehow turned his time in Arizona into the best stretch of his already legendary career...
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[@TheBenzo666]

97.3 on his Hall voting I hope the 2.7% of writers who didn’t vote for him never have a say on anything ever.

[@tinypoolmodelshipyard]

Most likely empty ballots some voters dont even vote

[@kylelewis9163]

The people who voted no are the angel hernandez of writers. Must not be able to see

[@jamesp1289]

They probably voted for Biden too.

[@alexramirez4723]

@@jamesp1289no need to get political on a video about baseball man

[@Kassadinftw]

@@alexramirez4723 Tell that to the leftists who like to infest everything with their poisonous garbage.

[@davidtran2026]

Thank Nolan Ryan for unleashing this monster. Before his advice to Randy back in the early 90s he was still a strikeout machine but also gave away a lot of walks. The advice in tweaking his delivery finalized the foundation of his epic career.

[@MetFanMac]

Nolan Ryan giving someone else effective advice on how to walk fewer batters is peak irony.

[@timothybrown5999]

Totally, Randy was always scary to face, but Nolan’s advice turned him into the most accurate strikeout artist in history.

[@shanezenmusic]

@@MetFanMac True but Nolan did gain much more control about halfway thru his career

[@UndercoverNormie]

@@MetFanMac Lol right

[@northstarjakobs]

Randy Johnson was able to surpass Nolan Ryan as a pitcher in no small part because he had Nolan Ryan to give him advice.

[@UnicornOfDepression]

Randy was fucking terrifying. He was a stud in Seattle. Got traded to Houston. Still a stud. Signed with Arizona. Became a fucking legend. Maddux and Randy: 4 straight Cy Young Awards each. One via location and speed control. The other via fear and power. "Catch up to my fastball? Ha! Now, here's a slider coming at 95% of the speed of my fastball."

[@thedoctorroth]

That slider was devastating. For left handed hitters it left Randy's hand looking like its gonna hit you and ends up painting the outside corner at 90+.. and dropped about 3 ft on top of it....just not fair.

[@SnipeyGaming]

He really threw two sliders. A slow one and a hard one. Absolutely ridiculous, he's so much better than ever other pitcher it's absurd Lmao 😂

[@loganhill6601]

​@@thedoctorrothyeah for a lefty that slider with his low arm slot and freakish length is starting behind them breaking all the way to the outside

[@UndercoverNormie]

My favorite pitcher and my second favorite pitcher. Maddux and Johnson.

[@RyanAngelo90]

372 K’s in 2001🤯🤯 Dont forget he also struckout 47 batters during that postseason. That’s 400+ K’s in total!!! Big Unit was something else!!

[@thizlam4810]

As a mariners fan I always say if we had randy still on the team in 2001 when we won 116 games, we would have won the World Series

[@lordgemini2376]

@@thizlam4810 A Rod + Randy on that team would've been insane

[@somethingsomethingdarkside8245]

Seeing this dude come out as a closer in the World Series, the game after he started was one of the greatest things I’ve seen in baseball in my life. Dude was otherworldly

[@israelhoffman8074]

Watching this man as a young kid in AZ live during these years was literally the best. Watching him and Curt crush people was a thing of magic.

[@jensonhartmann3630]

Dude, same. i've been turquoise and purple since '98, i had dinner with my mom with the original line up a few months before their inagrual season opener. I was right around 10 years old. So, ya know right when i really discovered MLB. I knew of teams, watched ESPN, typical boy shit. But when we got a team...It was game over, the Diamonbacks were was my home. Still to this day, (even though we are in a down tick) they're my dudes, and when Randy came to town...oooooHHHHH BOOOOY lol

[@johnniewalker2447]

What Curt and Randy did together was absolutely absurd. Paired with their performances in the playoffs, especially Curt - we may never see that type of dominance + volume every again.

[@jensonhartmann3630]

@@johnniewalker2447 oh absolutely. I think it was last week, Dodgers Tyler Glasnow had 14K's. I haven't seen a K number that large in quite some time to be honest. MLB has shifted heavily to the batters, so seeing pitching dominance and endurance is so rare any more.

[@scottnotpilgrim]

As intimidating as he was on the mound, he seems to be one of the nicest people around. Plus the logo for his photography company is perfect

[@northstarjakobs]

Randy Johnson is definitely up there on the list of all-time greats I'd love to get a beer with and talk baseball

[@AllisonIsLivid]

Thank you so much. Randy Johnson is a living god. A titan among mortals. The greatest pitcher to ever pitch.

[@Noah-hh1ql]

bros a professional meat rider

[@revartillery9612]

As a kid growing up in Phoenix, that World Series team was absolutely inspirational. Very few things about and around Phoenix have ever made me as excited as that team and Randy was honestly it's biggest contributor. He'll always be one of my favorite athletes of all time

[@HufflepuffBaseball42313]

I can’t believe you didn’t mention the 1994 American League wild card playoff between the Mariners and Twins when Randy crushed the hopes and dreams of baseball’s youngest manager Billy Heywood

[@StarkRavingSports]

Never forgave Ken Griffey Jr. for that catch

[@RileyMerlino]

I still find it hilarious that they made the least successful franchise in MLB history the villains of that film. The Mariners had never even made the playoffs when that movie was made. Oddly enough they made it for the first time the following year in 1995 and still no World Series appearances. That’s like making the Browns a villain in a football movie, or the Timberwolves in a basketball movie. Absolutely ridiculous 😂

[@JonSmith-hk1bq]

@@RileyMerlino The bad guys can't ALWAYS be the Yankees. Seriously though, if I'm making a movie and I could put any real-life pitcher as the final boss in the mid-90s, it's going to be Randy Johnson. No one else comes close to as physically imposing as he was, and he'd just finally put together all the pieces and was in the early phase of his decade of dominance.

[@HufflepuffBaseball42313]

@@RileyMerlino I think that’s a credit to the figures of Randy and Junior. Junior in the 90s was arguably the second most famous athlete on the planet next to MJ, and Randy’s imposing figure speaks for himself.

[@MrCrs9225]

I was at that Spring Training game when he hit the bird. That whole period of D' Backs baseball is my fondest period of childhood and will always make me love baseball.

[@leonardreardon5873]

Same, in tucson…I was playing in the outfield hill

[@theleap2946]

Watching that fateful game 7, the announcers talked about what the late innings would bring for the Diamondbacks pitching. No reliable relievers to speak of, and Schilling might get them seven or eight. So they pontificated….can Randy come in, like he did in 1995? He would have to start warming up early one of the announcers said. Sure enough, Johnson started pitching in the 5th inning. He knew he was gonna have to close this thing because no one was gonna trot Byung Hyung Kim out there again. Plus the wild thing about 2004 was how lousy the Diamondbacks were. Tons of injuries, rotating cast of players and a catcher that had barely started his career. There is a reason why the Braves fans said “screw it” and cheered Randy on. The video of the final inning is still spine tingling.

[@mptness4389]

Worth noting - at 8:01, you mentioned Randy became the first person to strike out 300 in three straight years while discussing 2001. This was actually his *fourth* consecutive year striking out 300+. His combined total in 1998 between Seattle and Houston was 329. So he ended up with five consecutive years from 98-02.

[@thejuansshow6410]

no nolan did from 72-74

[@mptness4389]

@@thejuansshow6410 So he did! My point will remain regarding Randy getting five in a row, however, and the season in question was the fourth.

[@thejuansshow6410]

@@mptness4389 👌👌

[@whereisspacebar2991]

Oh and one more small little detail, he was tipping his pitches the entire time. Batters knew whether a slider or fastball was coming and still couldn't hit it. Inhuman.

[@thedoctorroth]

I was gonna comment that everybody and their mama knew that slider was coming with 2 strikes and randy ahead in the count and he still made professional hitters look dumbfounded by it. It wasn't just hitters but literally everyone who was a fan knew what was coming.

[@paco4329]

You didn’t even mention that he also holds the record for most K’s in a relief appearance with 16.

[@gliiitched]

I feel like his postseason heroics go underappreciated. When you would need him most, he would deliver, big time. I mean, you could make a good point that his pitching is the reason why the Seattle Mariners still exist.

[@thizlam4810]

Randy had 4 straight 300+ strikeout seasons between 1999-2002. Since 2002, there’s only been 5 300+ strikeout seasons by any pitcher. Randy was built different

[@Howyodoinn]

The perfect game vs my braves was absolutely a once in a lifetime experience. The braves fans gave him standing ovations and all the flowers he rightly deserved.

[@ILoveMisty1985]

Always good to get a video about Randy Johnson. I don't think he ever quite got the credit that I felt he deserved in those 1999-2002 seasons, just because Pedro had the more insane ERA numbers at the same time. Sure. Randy's 2.48 ERA (187 ERA+) doesn't come close to matching Pedro's 2.07 ERA (233 ERA+) in those seasons, but his 1,417 strikeouts dwarfs Pedro's 999 in the same timeframe. And Randy was pretty good outside of those four seasons too. He should have won the Cy Young in 2004.

[@pugsnhogz]

I often think about who I would rather have pitching with my life on the line, peak Unit or peak Pedro. Usually the answer I arrive at is, "Yes."

[@SRSMike]

I would understand if being a short king means my qualifications to make this video are all gone

[@smoceany9478]

youre a lot taller than me dw

[@AllisonIsLivid]

Oh 5' 7" is the global average height. Nothing wrong with it at all.

[@JeffyPDiddy]

Everyone 6’5 and under is a short king to Randy Johnson.

[@goreyboyz8564]

@@AllisonIsLividsomeone has to be average after all, it makes the 6 foot and up club feel something in our lives

[@Matts_Smirkingrevenge]

Randy lead ML in K's in 1998 but was the leader in neither NL nor AL that season. Insane stuff from the big unit!

[@ILoveMisty1985]

He had 329 strikeouts in 1998 so that gives him five straight seasons with 300 Ks. Not even Nolan Ryan did that thanks to the bone chips in his elbow in 1975.

[@thedoctorroth]

Cool stat. Didn't realize that

[@hodgesjake]

Randy is my all time favorite pitcher. This was a great video!

[@duvalcricket63]

I love Randy but that bloop single kills me every single time 🥲

[@dannyhall2305]

That stupid blooper kills me every time I hear or see it. Fml But randy was a beast in his 30's

[@pwrinnmbrs]

That 2004 season was unbelievable. What he was able to accomplish on a team that lost 111 games. All these dominant seasons and I am most impressed with 2004.

[@parkercrossland410]

I'm so glad you used a part of that Bois clip. The music for that whole sequence introducing him is what I imagine his walkout music as a closer would've been. Seeing him run out to that as a batter would send the message that not only is he going to strike out, but his life is also in danger. Also nice use of Ode to the Mets. Didn't catch that at first.

[@TurdFergusson318]

If you were old enough to see him play. You will never see another like him. Only pitcher I’ve ever seen that could make some of the best hitters in the game not want to step in the box. He was a sight to behold. The GOAT of pitchers.

[@CookerSeven4]

Fantastic video. I’m a big fan of Jon Bois as well so seeing you hit him with some praise was awesome. I gotta say, your video was an awesome storytelling about Randy Johnson. Great graphics, editing, it was funny and informative, all in one. Definitely earned a subscriber

[@davedronski7749]

Randy also looks exactly like Jeff Foxworthy!😂😂😂

[@AutoTuneLabs]

Just purchased his rookie 89 topps tiffany auto (mariners) in a psa 10 im so hype on it

[@flundyyy]

Great video. He was my idol growing up as a left handed pitcher who batted right. We will never see anything like him again. Wish I could’ve seen him play.

[@thedoctorroth]

First time watching this channel. Fantastic work sir, this was exactly what i was searching for. Subscribed

[@drums4metal]

Randy was one of a kind.

[@Cindoreye]

I didn't go to many MLB games when I was younger, but I was lucky enough to be in Baltimore and to see Randy Johnson pitch in 98. I was and remain a Yankee fan, but I am truly glad I got to see that game, even if he killed my team in 2001. He did most of this while fighting serious back injuries as well. He was also the best pitcher in the old P.C. game Backyard Baseball b/c he never got tired.

[@Totes_ma_Goat]

I remember watching the 04 no hitter game. I live in Atlanta, and it was awesome seeing the stadium cheer Randy on!

[@darrynfrost3401]

Definitely one of my top 5 favorite Mariners ever. I watched every game he ever pitched in Seattle except one. He was one of the rare pitchers that made you want to watch the game for the pitching.

[@XJapanGonnaGiveItToYa-cd4xj]

Going to the "cheapie homers" park at Yankee Stadium was bad for him now that he was so consistently in the zone and no longer the wild man, funny enough. 2004 was Randy's best year. He had by far his highest K/bb, and at the same time his second lowest H/9. The perfect game cemented it. He just kept learning how to pitch better.

[@billypike3797]

I remember the 01 world series vividly. What a series!! Gonzo hitting that blooper had me jumping. And I'm a Red Sox fan.

[@VenomousStare]

God tier vid. Well done.

[@claytonclifford2323]

As a 36 year old life long Seattle Mariners fan, I was young when Randy came to Seattle and my love for baseball was growing more and more. Watching The Big Unit pitch for my Mariners was awesome but also something I took for granted. That man was absolutely dominate even back then and that’s when he still hadn’t quite fine tuned his mechanics so his walk numbers were fairly high. Randy was (in my opinion) the greatest, most dominant and 100% the most intimidating pitcher that I have ever watched pitch in the majors

[@CharmCityGamer]

Greatest left hander of all time thanks SRS/Mike!

[@dbecker33]

His throwing motion and wind up is so efficient, and looks so effortless. It’s no wonder he pitched so long at a high level.

[@-PlayMaker-]

He made it look so effortless too. Buddy was hitting 100mph sidearming with barely any follow through 😂

[@lianwhite9670]

Growing up a Yanks fan in the late 90's, early 00's I remember that 2001 season. Randy was a MACHINE. Absolutely terrifying. RESPECT on his name.

[@Ready4Wednesday]

Double the Ks to Hits in a season is absolutely insane

[@herreraedgar694]

My first video game was Ken Griffey Jr and Randy was the opener, so since that I knew his slider was a guarantee to make K’s. Good video, always good to see big unit in action

[@tyrk1589]

3 minutes left in the video "no way he left out the perfect game!!" dude, great video. thanks for letting me relive some of my best childhood baseball moments!

[@nickdavis5516]

I was not ready for the Wii Sports and Minecraft crossover

[@spencerburkard]

Ive seen like 3 or 4 videos like this on randy in the last couple months. Legends never die

[@Maker004]

I was going into freshman year when AZ was awarded the team, a sophomore when we acquired Randy and I must say watching him in his prime up close for so many years built a love for the game I can’t communicate. His prime was the the most amazing thing to watch and will never see again here at least

[@wizardoferror9942]

One of the very best pitchers in baseball! He worked fast on the mound too.

[@jacobjackson6889]

My favorite pitcher of all time and one of the few reasons I started watching baseball 💪🏾

[@jacobpunke1269]

World Series. You thought me starting the game yesterday was bad, you haven't seen anything yet. LET'S GO!!!!

[@zqrahll]

He was amazing-- I remember watching the 1995 game 163 where he took a perfect game into the 6th, finishing with a 3 hit CG and 12 Ks, and it was one of the best & most clutch games ever. That he got even better from then on was just astounding.

[@AlejandroGonzalez-im6br]

Great video bro, however, what happened to his 20 strikeout game?

[@emoranger37]

As an Arizona Diamondbacks in his early youth during this run, Randy Johnson scared the living daylights out of me, and as a result was my favorite player. Nobody made baseball cooler than the tall angry dude that threw it as fast as he could. Great video!!!

[@LordTepes81]

I wasn't a Randy Johnson, or Diamondbacks fan, but I was that night they took down the Evil Empire. I will always be a fan of his for that moment. Coming in and saving that World Series and having that story book ending.

[@frenchfrey65]

Something crazy I just found in the box score of Big Unit's perfect game, his pitching opponent that game was Mike Hampton, he was on an 0-4 stretch where only 1 of his losses he pitched less than 6 innings, he pitched a complete game HIMSELF that same game vs Big Unit! A complete game LOSS! You NEVER see that anymore! Even more crazy, Hampton started the season 2-8, before winning 7 of his next 8 starts (including a ND) going 9-8 before finishing the season on a good note at a 13-9 record. Hampton started awful in terms of ERA but managed to get it all the way down to 4.28 by the end of the season. Talk about a turn around for him!

[@KratosAurionPlays]

I wish I had been a little older when this happened. I was barely even 7 years old when Randy played his first season with us. Knew who he was by the 01 world series but barely followed baseball until around the 07-08 season so I only really got to see him play regularly in some of his final years with us.

[@knack4knowing]

Thank you Randy for brining a championship to Arizona

[@TheTEN24]

One of the best to ever do it. He just had such an intimidating look to him on the mound since he was such a giant.

[@solophentii3468]

Great video!

[@joeball13]

I remember how crazy it was watching the world series with Kurt schilling and Randy Johnson. You knew that their lineup had barely anyone, maybe Gonzo. They only had two good starting pictures who they would use in a three-man rotation. In the world series those two pictures single-handedly won them that world series, Randy and Curt were so dominant.

[@Cardsfan5]

Loved the video!

[@Jacob_Spang]

I will never forget the sound the ball makes when the catcher catches it from randy. That sound IMMEDIATELY got my attention and I was in awe the rest of the game.

[@ceebee312]

Idk if we’ll ever get another title with any pro sport team here from the desert (AZ) soon, but I’ll always be grateful for this ‘01 diamondbacks team !!

[@dennisbarnes9317]

Absolutely amazing

[@Bradleytosh]

Thank you for an unbelievable video buddy

[@Kassadinftw]

Dbacks postseason with Johnson and Schilling pitching and relieving at the end of the World Series was such a magnificent moment for modern baseball. Some of these performances are perhaps the greatest baseball moments ever.

[@devinaschenbrenner2683]

Randy was a BEAST. Used to work at the Cabelas here in Arizona. Bug Unit came in to buy a gun and my god. I knew his height. But seeing it up close is jaring. We were instructed, unless he asks for assistance leave him be. And honestly having to watch the man try to shop and be stopped every few minutes threw the thought out entirely. I didn't need to be told.

[@HeatStrokeGolf_]

What i would give to have been just a tad bit old during this time to watch and enjoy all this go down

[@girthbrookz4303]

You did a good job on this video, Kudos.

[@arclight5455]

Randy Johnson was the Undertaker of MLB. Lives his character, Never breaks character, intimidation at maximum.

[@Blakerzzzz4]

I went to so many dback games solely because Randy was pitching. It was just different when he was on the mound. We actually had the same arm doctor, so I ran into him a few times later and he was such a nice guy. He’s an absolute legend in Arizona.

[@anthonyemerson2965]

Randy Johnson’s UCL must be made of adamantium

[@Trizzer89]

For winning 4 Cy Youngs in a row, a remarkable amount of people still loved him in 2002 even if they were not Diamondbacks fans

[@teelowteelow356]

The most intimidating pitcher ever. The 2nd best lefty of all time. So happy to have him in AZ

[@djfglobal3377]

2001 World Series was one of my favorites . What a crazy time

[@VerdadTruth]

Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay and Pedro Martinez will always be my top 3 fav pitchers.

[@JadeMerkaba]

I remember my first game at dodger stadium, Randy Johnson was the opposing pitcher. My first thought was how ridiculous he looked on the mound, all legs and arms and hair, smallest torso I ever saw. But those thoughts turned into how the hell does anyone hit this guy? The arm angle, the speed, the pitch selection. He was absolutely dominant. I hated when the dodgers played the dbacks because I knew they were going to lose. But I loved watching Randy pitch.

[@btbarr16]

You know the stat that kinda grabbed my attention? 8 complete games. That's wild. I mean, the most complete games by a pitcher recently was a few years ago with 6, but that was an outlier. Usually, the top of the complete game stat sheet is filled with guys that got 2 or 3 complete games. Johnson, while closer to age 40 than 30, put up 8 complete games in a season. That's insane.

[@maltfusion6743]

Well done Mariners. Team that have had AROD, Edgar Martinez, Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, King Felix and Ichiro haven't been able to get over the hump.

[@teragallo1839]

97.3 on his Hall voting I hope the 2.7 of writers who didn’t vote for him never have a say on anything ever ❤

[@AtlasNovack]

I remember him being in backyard baseball 2001 and 2003, he's the only pro with a unique model. Every other pro shares one with another

[@kigman1980]

Legend among legends

[@Deraneholloway]

Great video. My son is a sophomore 16 years old he is 6'10" tall and left handed . He wears number 51. Might be the next Randy Johnson but Dr's say he will probably be around 7'2" .

[@jaerockchalk3216]

well said in this video , Randy was a beauty

[@bdoge6187]

I genuinely think even if Randy Johnson did steroids, no one would have the balls to even approach him about it 😂😂

[@alecsii4273]

Forever an Arizona legend 🐍🐍

[@dylanpedersen124]

Arizona loves randy, so proud he went in the hall as a dback

[@brandon3096]

“How can ya not be romantic about baseball” …….. in the 90s and 2000s. Golden age for the game

[@TheRealBirdmann]

Favorite pitcher ever. I saw him at Jamba Juice but didn’t approach because of the scary image l

[@bmac4]

Dont think he gets enough credit for that last season, dude was known for helping out other pitchers on teams he was on. His last year he was with the Giants he mentored or at least gave some welcome advice and pointers to young pitchers Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, and a struggling Jonathan Sanchez. All key contributors to Giants world series runs. Even when his career was almost over, he was still helping the next generation of pitchers assert dominance over baseball.

[@emophase2224]

Congrats SRS, I shared this video with my dad lol

[@Darthtanos]

in a lot of ways randy was a throwback to a much earlier era in baseball, in particular the workload that he took on. absolutely insane how log he pitched at that level. only other person i can think of that even comes close to being that good that late in their career is satchel paige, and he, like randy, was utterly inhuman. no idea how either of them pitched as long as they did.

[@11fifteen]

You just known this goat was blastin' absolutely fat rails in his day

[@loicalex]

"Fastball" was a magnificent documentary but the fact they didn't mention Randy Johnson left a very sour taste. This guy is the greastest left handed pitcher we've ever seen.

[@doublem1975x]

Slight correction: Nolan Ryan struck out 300+ batters in 3 consecutive season (72-74).

[@barleymepodcast2301]

It’s insane that he remains underrated. Top 3 lefty all time, yet underrated. Insane.

[@smoceany9478]

the fact his single season k/9 record lasted so long is only slightly less impressive than bobby bonds strikeout record

[@tacobelldog8943]

I'm in no way going to try and diminish what Strider did last season, but if Randy Johnson knew he only needed 6 or 7 good innings I feel like the K numbers would've been even higher for him

[@iamrixk5866]

cried too much… pitching is jus so artistic