In The Mlb Is Randy Johnson Overrated Or Is Pedro Martinez A Great Pitcher For The New York Teams?
They are both great pitchers, but Johnson is getting old. His age is showing. He seems to have lost command of his slider, which was one of the worst pitches a right handed batter could face during his heyday. Pedro, if he is pampered is an amazing pitcher, maybe the best or one of the best pitchers in baseball. If he is used improperly, then he will wear down and stink up the town. If I had a choice, I would probably take Pedro right now.
Pedro is the closest thing to Sandy Koufax for this generation. Clemens is the greatest pitcher of this last half century but Pedro from 1997-2000 was simply untouchable virtually every performance a masterpiece.
Pedro is second best all-time pitcher only to The Rocket. Randy is (or was) a great pitcher but is probably past his prime by a few years… yes- he is over-rated.
definitely and absolutely.
Neither – nobody really thinks that the “Big Unit” is as overpowering as in his years with Seattle/Florida, but he still pitched a gem last night.
Martinez, too, is NOT the Pedro of his early Red Sox days, but still an adequate ML pitcher.
I don’t think he is overrated.I think Pedro is the better pitcher now because Randy is up there in years but he is still able to go out and do his thing.He is a great pitcher!!!
Randy is getting older , His body is getting worn out. He was really good in his younger days.
I heard it said about Pedro that he has learned different pitches and etc. This is why he is is a good pitcher. But give him a few years and his fast ball may lose some speed as well
Randy Johnson is 42, Pedro is 34. I am ahuge Met fan but lets see what Pedro is doing 8 years from now.
Johnson scored a huge contract extension at big bucks from the Yanks based on his last couple of seasons prior to joining them. He has lost a few mph off his fastball and has not yet developed inot a change of speeds, locate your fastball, use your slider as an out pitch kind of guy. I think he needs to d osome of these things in order t o continue to be a dominant pitcher, but remember age catches up with everybody eventually. Johnson is on the downside of a great career.
I will credit Pedro for being able to make this change and extend his career at a high level. He barely hits 90 on his fastball now, but changes speeds, throws a mean breaking pitch, a devastating changeup, and knows how to win. He is still a great pitcher for one of the NY teams
Wow, I don’t think I can decide.
I’m a pretty big fan of the Red Sox, so Pedro holds a place in my heart. He’s a great athlete with amazing character. As bad as it sounds, I loved watching him throw at the Yankees players when he played for the Red Sox.
I also feel pretty strongly against Randy Johnson. I simply can’t stand when he pitches. I suppose a lot of it is for personal reasons because he reminds me of someone I dislike, which isn’t really fair, but I still dislike him a great deal as a Yankees pitcher.
This is a tough call, I suppose I’ll have to let the good outweigh the bad and say that Pedro is a great pitcher for the Mets.
Johnson is old. He’s declining a bit. It doesn’t mean that he’s overrated. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball for a long time.
Pedro Martinez is a great pitcher… and he’s benefitting from pitching in the softer-hitting National League. He sure as heck didn’t look this good the last couple of years with Boston…. but now he has pitchers and 150 lb number 8 hitters in the NL to deal with.
I think randy is probablly overrated but pedro would do better on the yanks
Johnson used to be as good as his reputation, however he has lost something over the last couple of seasons.
Pedro is dominant, but if he keeps going as deep into games as h has been this season, he’ll not have much left for the playoffs.
Both. Randy Johnsonn IS overrated (Woo-Hoo! He finally won a game!) and Pedro Martinez is a great pitcher. Johnson needs to get his act together, and Pedro is just fine right where he is.
One does not exclude the other. Randy is certainly one of the most dominating pitchers ever and so is Pedro.
They are both great pitchers.
Gee, let’s see
Randy Johnson (Age 42)
- 10-time All-Star (1990, 93-95, 97, 99, 00-02, 04)
- World Series MVP 2001
- 5 time Cy Young Award winner (95, 99-02)
- Became the first pitcher to record three wins in a single World Series since Mickey Lolich
- Led the league in ERA 4 times (95, 99, 01, 02)
- Led the league in Strikeouts (92- 95, 99-02, 04)
- Won Triple Crown (led league in wins, ERA and strikeouts, 02)
- Struck out 20 batters May 8, 2001 against Cincinnati
- 4,441 career strikeouts (3rd overall)
- 10.86 strikeouts per 9 innings (1st overall)
- Career 271 – 141 record .658 winning pct.
- Lifetime ERA. 3.16
- 20 Wins Seasons: 3 (97, 01-02)
- 300 Strikeouts Seasons: 5 (93, 99-02)
- No-hitter: June 2, 1990 vs Detroit Tigers
- Perfect game: May 18, 2004 vs Atlanta Braves
- Has (or had) a 99 MPH fastball. Can still go 95.
Pedro Martinez (Age 34)
- 7-time All-Star (96-00, 02 & 05)
- 3-time Cy Young Award Winner (97, 99-00)
- Pitcher’s Triple Crown (1999)
- 1999 All-Star Game MVP (1999)
- 5-time League ERA Leader (97, 99, 00, 02, 03)
- Led League in Wins (99)
- 3-time Strikeouts Leader (99, 00 & 02)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (99 & 02)
- 300 Strikeouts Seasons: 2 (97 & 99)
- Won a World Series 2004
- Career Record 203 ~ 86 .702 winning pct. (#1)
- Career ERA 2.71
- 2,952 Career Strikeouts
- 10.25 strikeouts per 9 innings
- Had a 94 MPH fastball, now rarely over 90 MPH
Johnson overrated? I don’t think so. His biggest problem is he’s getting older. Both are great pitchers and should both make the HoF. The difference is that Johnson will win 300 games, be close to 5,000 Ks so he’s a lock. Martinez will probably not pitch into his 40’s like Johnson, and will most likely cap out around 280 career wins and 4000 K’s…
Both.
Randy is not overrated. Pedro is great because he has great run support.
Randy is no means overrated. The guy is like 65 and still pitchers better than most of the league. As for Pedro, he is a good pitcher, but his problem is he knows it and it goes to his head. When he throws its like watching the O.C. entertaining and dramatic. (Ssh, I did not say that.)
Randy Johnson is overrated
I don’t think that either pitcher is overrated, but what has really impressed me about Martinez this season is that although he’s lost the velocity in his fastball, he’s made up for it by adding a couple more pitches to his repetoire this year and has continued to be dominant. Johnson hasn’t, and that’s what’s really separating the two of them.