On This Day in Baseball History: Randy Johnson Accomplishes Something in 2004 That Hasn't Been Done Since

On June 29, 2004, Arizona Diamondbacks star Randy Johnson joined the 4,000 strikeout club. No one in baseball has joined him in that club since.
On This Day in Baseball History: Randy Johnson Accomplishes Something in 2004 That Hasn't Been Done Since
On This Day in Baseball History: Randy Johnson Accomplishes Something in 2004 That Hasn't Been Done Since /

On this day in 2004, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson joined baseball history by recording his 4,000th career strikeout.

He was the fourth member of the prestigious 4,000 strikeout club. No one has joined him in that club since.

ESPN Stats & Info tweeted about the memory on Thursday:

On This Day in 2004... Randy Johnson sits down Jeff Cirillo for The Big Unit's 4,000th career strikeout. He becomes the 4th (and most recent) player to reach the mark, joining Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, and Roger Clemens.

One of the most accomplished and imposing figures in baseball history, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

He spent 22 years in the major leagues, debuting in 1988 with the Montreal Expos.

He then starred for the Mariners from 1990-1998 before being traded at the deadline to the Houston Astros. He spent 1999-2004 with the Diamondbacks, helping Arizona win the World Series in 2001. He also pitched for the Yankees from 2005-2006 before going back to Arizona (2007-2008) and the Giants (2009).

For his career, he went 303-166. He was a five-time Cy Young Award winner, a 10-time All-Star and a four-time winner of the ERA title.

He led the league in wins in 2002 (24), winning percentage (four times), games started (three times), complete games (four times), shutouts (twice), innings pitched (twice), and strikeouts (nine times).

It's possible that we see other members join the 4,000 strikeout club but it's not a guarantee it happens any time soon. Max Scherzer (3,269) and Justin Verlander (3,247) are the only active pitchers over 3,000 strikeouts and given their ages (38 and 40, respectively) they just may not have the longevity.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.