Walter Johnson: The Train Nobody Could Stop

Throughout the grand history of baseball, we have heard of legends that have come and gone. The players who touched the lives of generations of baseball fans from across this great nation.

In the city of Washington D.C. a player who played almost 80 years ago is still so revered that the current baseball team, which has no connection with him other than the city, has a statue of him outside their ballpark.  

That player is Walter "Big Train" Johnson, maybe the greatest pitcher most people don't talk about. Here are just some of the accomplishments that the Big Train accumulated over his 20+ year career.

2nd All Time in Wins with 411

9th All Time with Strikeouts with 3,508 and was the first player with 3,000+ K's, and was the only one till 1974 in MLB History.

A 2 Time MVP in 1913 and 1924

Led the AL in Strikeouts 12 times and did for 8 straight years (1912-1919)

Walter Johnson is the only pitcher to win 20 games and bat .400 in the same season. In 1925, he went 20-7 and hit .433 (42-for-97) with two homers and 20 RBI.

9th all time in hitting Home Runs by a Pitcher with 23 Homers.

Walter Johnson threw 38 1-0 shutouts in his career, and lost by that score 24 times.

Won the the Pitching Triple Crown (Leading in Wins, ERA, K's) for the AL 3 times, twice he won the Triple Crown for the entire Majors.

The funny thing is that there is plenty more where that came from. Walter Johnson was Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens and Roy Halladay all rolled into one.

When Ty Cobb, the greatest Hitter of the early 20th century faced him for the first time, even he was amazed at what he saw.

"On August 2, 1907, I encountered the most threatening sight I ever saw in the ball field. He was a rookie, and we licked our lips as we warmed up for the first game of a doubleheader in Washington. Evidently, manager Pongo Joe Cantillon of the Nats had picked a rube out of the cornfields of the deepest bushes to pitch against us... He was a tall, shambling galoot of about twenty, with arms so long they hung far out of his sleeves, and with a sidearm delivery that looked unimpressive at first glance... One of the Tigers imitated a cow mooing, and we hollered at Cantillon: 'Get the pitchfork ready, Joe-- your hayseed's on his way back to the barn.' ...The first time I faced him, I watched him take that easy windup. And then something went past me that made me flinch. The thing just hissed with danger. We couldn't touch him... every one of us knew we'd met the most powerful arm ever turned loose in a ball park."

In a 21-year career, Johnson had twelve 20-win seasons, including ten in a row. Twice, he topped thirty wins (33 in 1912 and 36 in 1913). Johnson's record includes 110 shutouts, the most in baseball history.

In his 1913 season, the man literally carried the Senators on his back. It ranks as one of the greatest seasons by a pitcher...of all time.

Johnson won the triple crown - 36 wins, 243 K's, and 1.14 ERA. His ERA, adjusted to the league, is the fifth best in history.

Opponents batted .187 and had a .217 OBP (sixth lowest all-time). He tossed 11 shutouts, completed 29 games, and threw 346 innings - all league bests.

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