Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Randy Johnson looked so awkward on the mound early in his career, that shaggy hair dangling down his neck as he fired a blazing fastball in every direction but the strike zone.

Tall story: Randy Johnson, seen here playing for the San Francisco Giants last year, has retired after a 22-year career in the major leagues. AP PHOTO

Now, after 22 major league seasons, The Big Unit is walking away from baseball as one of the game's greatest pitchers.

The 205-cm Johnson announced his retirement on a conference call Tuesday, a decision that had been expected from the overpowering left-hander who reached 300 wins last June.

"I really wanted to go out on my terms," Johnson said. "I just feel like there's not a lot more for me to do in this game. I just think it's a natural progression when you play this long. Eventually you have to say it's time."

A five-time Cy Young Award winner, the 46-year-old Johnson accomplished just about everything in his remarkable career that a player hopes for in baseball.

He owns a World Series ring and co-MVP honors, and was a 10-time All-Star. He threw two no-hitters, including a perfect game, and ranks second on the career strikeout list.

Johnson finishes with a record of 303-166 and 4,875 strikeouts in 4,135 1/3 innings for Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona, the New York Yankees and San Francisco. His strikeouts are the most by a left-hander and second to Nolan Ryan's 5,714.

"It's all been a bit of a whirlwind. I never really got caught up in what I did," Johnson said. "I never really dwelt on my achievements. They're nice. Maybe now I'll be able to reflect on them."

Johnson overcame several injuries to keep pitching effectively into his mid-40s. He said before last season ended that he looked forward to going home to Arizona and spending time with his family before making a decision about his future.

"It's taken this long into January because I definitely wanted to just kind of relax from the season being over and make sure I had a clear head when I made this decision, and that I would be making it wholeheartedly and would be sticking to it," he said.

Johnson went 8-6 with a 4.88 ERA in 17 starts and five relief appearances for San Francisco last season despite missing more than two months with a strained left shoulder that also had a tear in the rotator cuff. He returned in late September as a reliever, a role he couldn't see himself embracing in order to keep pitching.

His final strikeout came on the season's final day at San Diego, against Adrian Gonzalez to end the seventh inning. Johnson said he developed a better appreciation for relief pitchers last year.

"My 40s have really been learning years," he said. "The last five years of my career, there's been a lot there to sift through, a lot of ups and downs, some great moments in my career and some moments that got my head scratching."

Japanese players have joined in tributes to five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson.

"It's hard to find a pitcher who can strike out batters when he needs to. He was definitely the one," said Hideki Matsui, who was Johnson's teammate with the New York Yankees.

"Randy is a friendly person. He knows a lot about Japan. It's amazing that he played until that age at such a high level," the new Los Angeles Angels slugger continued.

Johnson became the oldest pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game on May 18, 2004 against the Atlanta Braves.

"I and Randy were wondering which of us would have a longer career," said 46-year-old left-hander Kimiyasu Kudo, who had offseason training in Arizona with Johnson in the past.

"I thought (Hideo) Nomo was a monster because he spent 10 seasons as a major league starter. But Randy went 22 seasons. He is Superman to me," said 224-game winner Kudo, who will return to the Seibu Lions next season.

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