ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The breakout came in the year he turned 30, but his talent was clear long before. A power left-hander with a knockout fastball and slider, he had made an All-Star team but regressed, struggling for the right way to harness his strength. He piled up strikeouts — but also walks — like few others in baseball.
Also, he once killed a bird with a ball in flight.
All of that, of course, describes Randy Johnson, who became the most decorated left-hander in baseball history. It also describes Robbie Ray, the surprise ace of the Toronto Blue Jays.