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Lefty nabs Angels' Salmon in fourth inning for historic mark
NEW YORK -- Randy Johnson isn't the same Big Unit he was when he recorded strik
eout No. 1 or even No. 4,000. In his mind, the gun-slinging, intimidating strik
eout guy is behind him.
So when Johnson notched career strikeout No. 4,500 in the fourth inning in a Ya
nkees 7-2 win Monday against the Angels, he said it was just a bonus to his car
eer, a late tack-on that doesn't say anything about who he is now, just who he
was.
"I must have struck out a lot of people somewhere along the line, just not rece
ntly," Johnson said. "Today's game was a by-product of what I've done over the
majority of my career, and that was started in Seattle and really ended in Ariz
ona."
Johnson remembered other career strikeout milestones such as No. 4,000, which h
e reached in 2004. Only then he lost. He remembered striking out 19 batters in
a game, and again losing.
At this point in his career, it's all about winning, which Johnson has now done
in back-to-back starts. He had won just one of five previous starts.
And that's what Johnson said felt better after Monday's game than any landmark.
He held the loaded Angels lineup to two runs over seven innings while allowing
eight hits and striking out five.
"I don't think it means anything. Should it?" Johnson asked. "I've been around
a long time and struck out a lot of batters. That's probably why my arm's prett
y tired after I pitch.
"I could not strike out anybody for the rest of my career and I'd be content. W
inning ballgames is really how you measure a pitcher, not by strikeouts."
Either way, Johnson has been successful. He now has 276 career wins and is only
the third pitcher in Major-League history to record 4,500 strikeouts.
"Randy is a dominant pitcher," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He has been a d
ominant pitcher for a long, long, long time. Not too many guys of his age -- No
lan Ryan did it -- dominate the game into their 40s. And Roger, of course is do
ing it."
Ryan (5,714 career K's) and Clemens (4,552) are the only other two pitchers to
have more strikeouts than Johnson, who now has 4,503.
After Johnson recorded the strikeout of Tim Salmon with a wicked slider, the cr
owd chanted his name. He only gave a small wave toward the Yankees dugout. Catc
her Jorge Posada came out from behind the plate to stop the game momentarily. O
therwise, Johnson may have just plowed on.
"I went out there and said, 'Congratulations, you've done a hell of a job,'" Po
sada said. "'You deserve it. You deserve this ovation. Enjoy it.'"
Of course, Johnson ignored the advice, bearing down and retiring the next batte
r with a runner still on first. Only then did Johnson fully acknowledge the sta
nding ovation before waving to his family sitting behind the backstop.
Posada, who had chemistry issues with Johnson during their first season togethe
r, was the first teammate to greet his pitcher with a handshake and a pat on th
e head.
Salmon couldn't be a better opponent for Johnson to face. Of all active players
, he's struck out Salmon the most -- 23 times. Of all players Johnson faced in
his career, active and retired, Salmon ranks fifth on Johnson's K list.
But Salmon's latest failures weren't chalked up to the same 6-foot-10 lefty who
had dominated him in the past. This was a new pitcher.
"He's different," Salmon said. "He really pitches now. He has a splitty. He can
still be hard in certain situations, but he doesn't come out on every hitter l
ike that. He reminds me of Roger Clemens with that splitty. Now you have to wor
ry about that."
Actually Johnson used five pitches Monday: a splitter, two-seam fastball, slide
r, changeup and, of course, that hard four-seam fastball.
After all, just because he's a different pitcher at 42 doesn't mean a worse one
.
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