• Johan credits Twins’ minor league pitching coach Bobby Cuellar for teaching him the changeup. Cuellar also coached Pedro Martinez when he was with the Montreal Expos.
• Johan roomed with Tim Redding in the minors.
• Scout Andres Reiner was so upset that the Astros let Johan go that he tried to reacquire him for prospect Trever Miller when the Twins sent him to Edmonton to start the 2002 season.
• Johan was named AL Pitcher of the Month for August of 2002—his first full month as a big-league starter.
• Johan led the Twins in strikeouts in 2002, despite spending two months in the minors and only starting 14 games.
• Bullpen aces Johan, Eddie Guardado and JC Romero became known as The three Amigos in 2002.
• Johan’s 11.3 strikeouts per inning in 2002 ranked second in the majors to Randy Johnson.
• Batters hit a paltry .165 against Johan with runners in scoring position in 2003.
• Prior to the 2004 season, Johan lost his arbitration case and had to accept $1.6 million instead of the $2.45 million he had filed for.
• Johan had his first two-hit game as a batter against the Brewers in 2004.
• In 2004, Johan became the first pitcher in more than 40 years to go 10 starts without giving up more than four hits or four runs.
• Johann was named AL Pitcher of the Month for both July and August during the 2004 season.
• Johan joined exclusive company in Minnesota franchise history in 2004. The last Twin to lead the AL in strikeouts was Camilo Pascual in 1963. The team record for K’s was 258, set by Bert Blyleven in 1972.
• Johan was honored with the 2004 Warren Spahn Award, given to the big league’s best left-handed pitcher.
• In 2006, Johan struck out former teammate David Ortiz to notch his 1,000th career K. Later in the season, Ortiz his his 51st home run off Johan to set a club record for the Red Sox.
• The last pitcher to win the major league Triple Crown before Johan in 2006 was Dwight Gooden in 1985.
• Johan went the entire 2006 season without losing a home game.
• Johan won his first Gold Glove in 2007.
• When Johan returned to Venezuela after winning the 2004 AL Cy Young Award, president Hugo Chavez assigned four security guards to protect him.
• Johan made 123 straight starts of five or more innings between 2004 and 2007. In the last 50 years, only Curt Schilling and David Cone had longer streaks.
• In June of 2007, broadcaster Bert Blyleven said he would shave his head if Johan could throw a complete game shutout against the Mets. Johan blanked New York, and Blyleven made good on his promise.
• Johan felt bad that the man he outpitched for his first major league victory had to be Jose Lima. Lima had been kind to the minor leaguers when Johan was in the Houston organization, which impressed the teenager.
• Johan ranks among the top Rule 5 picks in history. Others include Roberto Clemente, George Bell and Bobby Bonilla.
• Although the Twins did not discover Johan, they were among the first major-league clubs to mine Venezuela’s baseball talent. The team now maintains a baseball academy in Bejuma, Venezuela. Luis Rivas was the first to reach the majors from this camp. Juan Rincon and Carlos Pulido are also Venezuelan products.
• When Johan decided to sell his SUV in 2004, he listed it on eBay—and threw in a signed jersey.
• Johan and his wife, Yasmile, have two children, Jasmily and Jasmine.

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