The second winningest pitcher in major league history, Walter Johnson is the 53rd inductee into the Baseball Hall of Immortals.
Often regarded as one of the hardest throwing pitchers the game has seen (hence the nickname “The Big Train”), Johnson would pitch his entire 21-year career for the Washington Senators. Over those 21 years he would rack up 417 victories, trailing only Cy Young in that category.
Johnson was dominant on the mound, winning 25 or more games for 7 consecutive seasons and posting a sub-2.00 ERA in 11 of his 21 seasons. He would finish his career with a 2.13 ERA, good for 8th all-time. It should be noted that most of thoise ahead of him either pitched in the 19th century or had a significant number of innings as a reliever.
Johnson would overpower hitters with his fastball, leading the league in strikeouts 12-times and finishing with obver 3,500 punch-outs. He is still ranked 9th all-time.
100 years after he pitched, Johnson is still the career leader in one category – shutouts. In 21 years he pitched 110 complete game shutouts, 20 more than Pete Alexander in 2nd place. The only “modern” pitchers to come close were Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan, each having notched 61 in their careers.
For his dominance on the mound, Walter Johsnon is an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
