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SF Giants sign Randy Johnson: the Big Unit comes home
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Randy Johnson, the newest SF Giants pitcher.
Photo/AP
Although a day late, the San Francisco Giants revealed what Santa has been working on this holiday season. Pitcher Randy Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Giants on Dec. 26 for an undisclosed amount.
The 45-year-old is a five-time Cy Young Award winner and will be looking to join the elusive 300-win club. Johnson is five wins shy of the 300 mark and will be the 26th pitcher to hit the milestone.
Johnson proved to be successful in 2008 after missing most of the 2007 season dealing with a back injury that eventually led to the removal of a surgically repaired disc. During the season, Johnson started 30 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks earning an 11-10 record and a 3.91 ERA. Among National League pitchers, he ranked 3rd with a 3.93 K/BB ratio and was 6th with 8.46 K/9. He moved up to second on the all-time strikeout leaders list, finishing the season with 4,789 SO. His 100th career complete game was recorded on Sep. 28 against the Colorado Rockies.
Johnson, a Bay Area native who was born in Walnut Creek and is a 1982 graduate of Livermore High School, is the last piece that forms a trifecta of Cy Young Award winners (Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito) on the Giants pitching staff. With the addition of the 6-10 lefty, San Francisco hopes to be a factor in the NL West by stifling hitters, making up for the team’s weaker offense.
The last team to flaunt three Cy Young winners was the 2002 Atlanta Braves (Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz) who, ironically, lost the NLDS to the Giants.
Without a big bat signed at this point, is the Big Unit the missing piece the Giants need to contend in 2009?
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