Fans Vote Randy Johnson Their Favorite USC Baseball Player Ever
Aubrey Kragen
7/24/2020
In honor of MLB's Opening Day, we asked our Instagram followers to name their favorite USC baseball players of all time.
Check out the Top 5!
1. Randy Johnson
“The Big Unit” came out on top.
The 6-foot-10 lefty pitcher played at USC from 1983-85. In '85, he led the Trojans with 118.1 innings pitched and 99 strikeouts. He was also on a basketball scholarship at USC.
Johnson went on to have a storied MLB career. In 22 seasons, he was a 10-time All-Star, a five-time Cy Young Award winner, a nine-time strikeout leader, a four-time ERA leader, a World Series champ and a World Series MVP.
In 2015, he was named a first ballot Baseball Hall of Famer.
2. Mark McGwire
Though most fans know McGwire as a big-time slugger, he was actually a pitcher with better numbers than Johnson in college.
“Big Mac" picked up a number of accolades during his college career (1982-84).
In his final season, he was named the National Player of the Year by The Sporting News, an All-American First Teamer and the Pac-10 Player of the Year.
That year, he set the Pac-10 single-season record with 32 home runs. He is USC's all-time leader in home runs, with 54.
In his 16-year MLB career, McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, a five-time home run leader, a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a two-time World Series Champion.
He also earned a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics, hosted in LA.
3. Fred Lynn
Outfielder Fred Lynn won back-to-back-to-back national titles at USC from 1971-73.
He earned College Baseball Coaches Association All-American honors in 1972 and The Sporting News All-American honors in both 1972 and 1973. He finished his Trojan career with a .320 batting average, 28 home runs and 111 RBI.
In his 17-year MLB career, he was a nine-time All-Star and a four-time Golden Glove Award winner in addition to being named the AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in 1975.
Lynn is a member of the USC Athletics Hall of Fame, the College Baseball Hall of Fame and the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
4. Tom Seaver
Seaver is the oldest Trojan on this list, and the most decorated.
In his one season at USC (1965), he went 10-2 with a 2.47 ERA.
He went on to play 20 years in the MLB, during which he was a 12-time All-Star, five-time NL strikeout leader, three-time NL ERA leader, three-time NL wins leader and three-time NL Cy Young Award winner.
“Tom Terrific” also won the World Series in 1969.
The Mets' all-time leader in wins is a member of the USC Athletics Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame, New York Mets Hall of Fame and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
5. Jeff Clement
Rounding out the list is catcher Jeff Clement.
Clement was named the National Freshman of the Year in 2003, a Pac-10 first teamer in 2004 and 2005 and an All-American in 2005. He led USC in home runs and RBIs in each of his three seasons, and his 46 career home runs rank second in USC history.
Clement won gold with Team USA at the 2004 World University Baseball Championship in Tainan.
He was also the first Trojan to ever win the Johnny Bench Award in 2005.
He went on to play four seasons in the MLB.
