Now Johnson Is Really Complete With Cy Young in a Landslide

In another measure of the extent to which he has harnessed his impressive and intimidating talent, Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners won the American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday.

Close in each of the last two years, Johnson received 26 of 28 first-place votes from a committee of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

The 6-foot-10 left-hander, 18-2 with a league-leading 2.48 earned-run average and a major league-leading 294 strikeouts, outdistanced Cleveland Indian closer Jose Mesa by receiving 136 points, based on five points for a first-place vote, three for a second and one for a third.

Mesa, who saved 46 games, received the two first-place votes that Johnson didn’t and 54 points. Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox was third with 29 points, and David Cone of the New York Yankees, the 1994 winner, received 18 points to finish fourth.

Johnson received a $200,000 bonus for winning the award, and Mesa received a $400,000 bonus as the Rolaids’ fireman of the year.

The Mariners’ Lou Piniella was recently selected as the AL’s manager of the year, but Johnson is the first player to win a major postseason award in the franchise’s 19-year history.

He agreed that it confirmed his development as “a complete pitcher and student of the game.”

No longer the erratic fastball pitcher who led the league in walks for three consecutive years starting in 1990, Johnson averaged only 2.73 walks per nine innings this season while retaining his dominating stuff.

Now capable of retiring hitters with a slider and changeup, in addition to his 100-m.p.h. fastball, Johnson established a league record for win percentage and restricted opponents to a .201 batting average while breaking Nolan Ryan’s major league strikeout ratio of 11.48 per nine innings.

Johnson raised it to 12.35, employing tips Ryan and then Texas Ranger pitching coach Tom House provided early in the 1993 season to straighten out his mechanics.

Johnson, 32, said Tuesday he would always be grateful for that influential advice, but the turning point in his development came with the death of his father, Bud, on Christmas Day in 1992.

Going nowhere as a pitcher, Johnson said he considered quitting, realized it wasn’t what his father would want and vowed to become the best he could be, starting with a “warrior’s demeanor” on the mound.

“I think my dad would be very proud, but I have to go out and pitch in 1996 with the same heart and confidence,” Johnson said. “Whether I won the award or not, I carry my own expectations now.”

In a season in which they came back from a 13-game deficit to win the AL West, the Mariners were 27-3 in games Johnson started. He was comparably impressive in the postseason, but Cy Young ballots had to be posted before the playoffs.

“I fought myself for a lot of years, but I feel I’ve harnessed my ability now to the point where I give myself and the team a chance to win every five days,” he said. “The best compliment I received this year came when Greg Maddux said that he felt I had become a complete pitcher. I realize you can’t throw fastballs for nine innings, that you have to set up hitters.

“I’m much more confident and focused, and I had more fun this year than I’ve ever had--not because of the award but because of what the team did. The award is great, but it’s only icing. I owe the credit to the team.”

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The Voting

Voting for the 1995 American League Cy Young Award, with five points for each first-place vote, three points for second and one point for third:

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Player 1st 2nd 3rd Tot Randy Johnson, Seattle 26 2 0 136 Jose Mesa, Cleveland 2 13 5 54 Tim Wakefield, Boston 0 6 11 29 David Cone, Toronto-N.Y. 0 5 3 18 Mike Mussina, Baltimore 0 2 8 14 Charles Nagy, Cleveland 0 0 1 1

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TALE OF THE TAPE

A comparison between the Cy Young Award winners, Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves and Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners: *--*

Maddux Johnson Record 19-2 18-2 Win Percentage .904 .900 ERA 1.63 2.48 Innings 209 214 Hits 147 159 Strikeouts 181 298 Walks 23 65 Cy Youngs 4 1

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