Randy Johnson

“The Big Unit: six-foot-ten, 100 miles an hour, and a mullet-and-mustache combo that scared everyone.”

91STACH SCORE

✂ Horseshoe Athlete Era: 1990s Born 1963

Is this a Legendary Stach?

Stach Stats

Stash Power88

Ruggedness97

Curl Factor35

Legend Status98

Stats are for entertainment purposes. The mustache committee's decisions are final and occasionally arbitrary.

Style: Horseshoe
Peak Era: 1990s
Born: 1963
Fan Votes: 0 legendary · 0 meh

The Story

About Randy Johnson

Randall David Johnson was born in 1963 in Walnut Creek, California, and pitched at USC before the Montreal Expos drafted him in 1985. At six feet ten inches he was the tallest pitcher in big-league history when he debuted in 1988, and for years he was as wild as he was fast.

Once he harnessed the control, he became arguably the most dominant left-hander ever: five Cy Young Awards (1995 with Seattle, 1999–2002 with Arizona), a 2001 World Series co-MVP with Curt Schilling, a no-hitter in 1990 and a perfect game in 2004 at age 40. He retired in 2009 with 303 wins and 4,875 strikeouts, second all-time, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015 on the first ballot.

In retirement he has become a serious professional photographer, shooting concerts, wildlife and sports.

The Verdict

Why the Stach Became Iconic

The mullet got the jokes, but the mustache did the work. Thin, drooping and permanently attached to a glare from above, Johnson's lip was the final detail of the most intimidating presence a hitter could face. John Kruk famously waved the white flag against him at the 1993 All-Star Game.

Later in his career he trimmed things down, but the Seattle-era mustache-and-mullet remains one of the great looks in baseball history.

On the Record

Career Highlights

Montreal Expos (1988–1989)
Seattle Mariners (1989–1998) — Cy Young Award 1995; no-hitter 1990
Houston Astros (1998)
Arizona Diamondbacks (1999–2004, 2007–2008) — four straight Cy Youngs; 2001 World Series co-MVP; perfect game 2004
New York Yankees (2005–2006) and San Francisco Giants (2009) — 300th win
Baseball Hall of Fame, Class of 2015

Fun Facts

His 4,875 strikeouts are the most ever by a left-handed pitcher.
He threw a perfect game at 40, the oldest pitcher ever to do so.
A spring training fastball in 2001 famously struck and killed a bird in mid-flight.
His photography company logo is a dead bird, a nod to that spring training pitch.