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| The Big Unit. Best pitcher in the ABL. Ever. |
P - 1984 Anchorage Glacier Pilots
Bats: Right - Throws: Left
Height: 6'10" - Weight: 225lb
Drafted: 1985, Montreal Expos, 2nd Round
MLB Career: 1988-2009
MLB Teams: Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona, New York (AL), San Francisco.
The Big Unit wasn't a can't miss prospect. In fact, he could miss, and miss he did, perhaps more often than not. You never knew whether it's because he was having control problems, or if he was just crazy enough to nail someone in the ribs if for no better reasons than because the poor batter rubbed him the wrong way. Either way, Johnson's stint in the ABL was best summed up with the phrase "raw talent" (emphasis on "raw").
"He could throw the ball 218 miles per hour," said legendary Glacier Pilots coach Jack O'Toole, "but he had no idea where it was going." With a 4-2 record, 3.18 ERA, and a 36/21 K/BB ratio on an injury-shortened season, Johnson managed. Perhaps the batters had no idea where his pitches were going to go and figured they'd just swing at them.
Johnson's wild and crazy style turned out to be just the ticket to one of the greatest baseball careers in the history of the game. With a haircut more fitting of a hockey player than a pitcher, Randy "The Big Mullet" Johnson holds a trifecta of records: First place in strikeouts per nine innings, second in career strikeouts, and -- not surprising to opposing batters in the '84 ABL -- third in hit batsmen. Oh, and first place in causing stray birds to explode by drilling them with 100 mph fastballs.
When Randy Johnson hung up his spikes for good this off-season, it was bittersweet. Bitter to see him stop at a mere five Cy Young awards and ten All-Star appearances. Sweet that he retired while he still had it, before he got too old to go out there without embarrassing himself, trying to hang on to the straws as long as possible.
Randy Johnson was easily the best pitcher to ever wear the uniform of a modern-era ABL team. A future Hall-of-Famer, for sure. Second only to one other man to ever play in this league, a man who actually didn't see much of Alaska because he barely made it up in time to turn around and head for Wichita for the NBC tournament. If you haven't figured out who I'm talking about by now, you'll probably hate me when you read about him next Tuesday. In the mean time, just be happy to know that Randy Johnson is the #2 All-Time Top ABL Player and the best pitcher this league has ever seen.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryce_edwards/ / CC BY 2.0
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