When it comes to greatest pitchers of the last 50 years or so, I put Randy Johnson right behind Greg Maddux. Johnson will eventually become the all-time strikeout leader, and will probably finish w/well over 300 wins. He's a class act and just likes to pitch. I read the other day where he would consider pitching until he's 50. One of the last great pitchers from the 90's too.

If this was based on his career stats I would give him 5 stars hands down. Currently however since hes past his prime he deserves more like 3. Still...I love Randy! I so hope he can hang around to get that 300th win! Easily the most dominating/intimidating pitcher of the 90's

Although he's a mortal lock for the Hall of Fame, the big ugly sumbitch is pretty much done now.

In his prime, he was the best lefty in the game, and his prime lasted a goodly number of years.

He was kind of tough on the avian species in the game, though

I don't care if he has been strugling. He is one of the best all-time. Maybe the best lefty.

4/9/05 - *****The Big Unit has gotten better with age. Winning a Cy Young award at age 40 was impressive last year, and he doesn't seem to be slowing down too much in '05. Becoming one of the greatest pitchers of all time.  7/2/07 - Still an All Time Great, but is only an average pitcher at this stage in his career. He is battling injuries, but has decent stuff when he is healthy. Hopefully he will be healthy enough over the last year and a half of his contract to make it to 300 wins. However, I think he is on his last legs in the bigs.

This lefty caught my heart when he struck that bird.  Now that I mention it, HE kind of looks like a bird.  The irony!

5 is for his career- as he's one of the best left handed hurlers in history and has had a HOF caliber career. However, he's down to about a 2 or 2.5 in terms of how good he is currently- he had 17 wins but that was in large part from having a strong offense behind him, his ERA was 5.00 and he's about 146 years old now. My standard joke about this gigantic ogre looking fellow is that he looks like a rustic who's about to call the cops and claim that Bigfoot is in his yard drinking out of his garden hose.

Good but not great now. Past his peak and is headed for a future HOF honor.

Why Randy why? Why did you have to sell your soul to the devil aka George Stienbrenner. Good but a sell out who plays for money

Age and American League line-ups have caught up with him! He no longer has the weak 8 & 9 hitters that you have in the National League. Why do you think Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens are doing so well?

He threw a pefect game at 40 years old or something. And nobody can claim they followed his fastball all the way to the plate.

He still has lots in the tank. He was impressive in last night's game (first win at Yankee Stadium since 1991) and I think he'll get used to the atmosphere. I'm glad he's on our side for a change. What he did against my Yankees in the 2001 Fall Classic (3 wins) was legendary.

The Big Unit is still 'good', but the 17 years are catching up...maybe 12-13 wins in NY this year. Regarless of the win, he's going to have a hard time against that division.

the best ever

fantastic pitcher, but a late bloomer. has one the big games, and at 41 is still going strong.

The Biggest Unit ever ... he's got it all, and plenty still for the Yankees. He's My Big Guy ...

A freak. Too bad we are going to lose him in a trade soon. UPDATE: Trades happen, but all the same having Dr. Frankenstien's monster pitch to you must be unnerving to say the least.

The Big Unit is one of the best all-time!! He is a simply dominating pitcher. No one intimidates hitters like Randy Johnson!!

Although Johnson may be one of the great lefties of all time, he's over the hill. The Yankees bought a pig in a poke, and one with no class at that.

He has the nastiest slider I've ever seen. That specific pitch (Randy Johnson's slider) should be illegal! :)

Just passed Steve Carlton as all-time southpaw leader in strikeouts. Hitters must cringe facing a 7-foot dude with a 100 MPH fastball and Nuke LaRoosh-like control. Randy Johnson is a first ballot hall-of-famer. But if I had a Game 7, I would take Roger Clemens, or even Curt Schilling. I remember he was my #1 Draft pick in my Rotisserie league draft way back in 1989. Johnson got bombed in his first 3 games and got sent to the minors. But I guess my long range assessment was on target.

the best picther would be johan santana.he is un hittable.he makes it hard to sweep minnesota

HOF pitcher!

one of the greatest pitchers of all time. too bad hes not gonna reach 33 carrer wins

Still a dominating left-hander with alot of heat, but he is no longer unhitable.

what's wrong with him? he's good.

Doesn't look his dominant self anymore. Maybe a 4, but as he is a bit high anyway....

One of the most effective pitchers of all time. When I was a kid and playing high school B-ball I used to dread the super tall lefties. R J is THE Intimidator. I can not imagine a seven foot lefty throwing 100 mph fastballs in my direction without experiencing pants-pissing chills up and down the old spine. It was also pretty cool when he killed that bird. I understand that he didn't find it all that funny that a fastball of his murdered a seagull, but that kind of thing could only have happened to R J. I will definitely be telling my grandkids about this SOB.

Conrol has greatly improved, and fastball is still mind boggling. Slider still fools hitters, splitter is effective in getting groundballs. Still terrible fielder and hitter, but that doesn't seem to bother him too much. 225-108 3.06 Best strikeout to innings pitched ratio ever, no one else even close. But he pitches in the national league.

Randy Johnson Is The Best Pitcher Ever!

He'll be 40 in October, and he's still the most dominating pitcher in baseball; he'll throw that wicked slider right at you, that high-90's four-seamer, he'll even change speeds on you with a low-90's two-seam fastball that he'll cut in on righties, a decent slurve, and a splitter. He's so unpredictable, it's scary. He'll bust you with a fastball inside to keep you honest, and then freeze you with that filthy slider. He'll throw that slider now on any count; that's his out pitch. It's almost unfair; he's not slowing down with age, he's improving.

great pitcher

I'm lucky enough to live in Phoenix and I get to see this guy pitch all the time. It's funny that as soon as the Arizona Republic did a story on him and how he was losing it, he took over and dominated the rest of the year. Don't make this guy mad! Him and Schilling? Yea, unstoppable.

Randy is a great pitcher, no question about it. The horror story I heard from 710 Kiro's Dori Monson, (Seattle radio talk show) grouped together with the fit he threw in Seattle leads me to belive this guy is seriously lacking in character.

Simply the best pitcher over the last five years.

There is nothing graceful about "The Big Unit" but he really gets the job done. The sight of him on the mound brings fear to many a rookies heart, and Randy fears no one. He brings new meaning to the words "brush-back pitch". Love him or hate him, you have to admire his skill. One of the strangest images in baseball history is the film of Randy pitching this season, and the bird flies in front of a 90+ mph fastball. Just an explosion of feathers and the bird never knew what hit him.

RJ is perhaps the most intimidating pitcher of all-time and he can still bring it. He's throws extremely hard and lefties don't have a prayer against him.