Mariners Retire Randy Johnson’s #51: Tribute to the Baseball Legend

Randy Johnson: The Mariners Retire Number 51

The legendary left-handed pitcher, Randy Johnson, a Hall of Famer, will have his number 51 retired by the Seattle Mariners in a pre-game ceremony on May 2, 2026, the club announced. In June, the Mariners announced that Johnson’s number 51 would become the fifth number retired by the franchise, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24), Edgar Martinez (No. 11), and Ichiro Suzuki, whose number 51 was retired this summer. All MLB teams have retired Jackie Robinson’s number 42. Johnson had a 130-74 record with an ERA of 3.42 in 10 seasons with the Mariners.

I am happy that my contributions during the 10 years I was there are recognized now. It’s been a long time, that’s for sure.

Randy Johnson

Johnson enjoyed even more success with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with whom he won four consecutive Cy Young awards, as well as a World Series in 2001. However, the lanky left-handed pitcher nicknamed “Big Unit” due to his height of 6 feet 10 inches fondly remembers his time in Seattle. Johnson debuted in the Major Leagues in 1988 with the Montreal Expos and was traded to Seattle in 1989. After some initial control issues with the Mariners, he found his rhythm with an explosive season in 1993. He had a record of 19-8 with an ERA of 3.24 that year, the first of his six seasons with more than 300 strikeouts. The year Johnson remembers with special affection is the 1995 season, during which he had an 18-2 record with an ERA of 2.48 and won his first of five Cy Young awards. The future of the Mariners in Seattle was put in doubt when in September of that year, King County voters rejected subsidy taxes to build a new stadium. Simultaneously, the Mariners enjoyed a prosperous season on the field at the Kingdome, culminating in reaching the American League Championship Series before falling to Cleveland. Finally, the King County Council approved funding for a new stadium.

Looking back now and that history being documented by the Mariners, it worked. I’m grateful to have been a big part of that and everyone else was a big part of that, and it all just came together for all the players.

Randy Johnson

Johnson was traded to the Houston Astros in the middle of the 1998 season and spent the rest of his career with the Diamondbacks (1999-2004, 2007-08), the New York Yankees (2005-06), and the San Francisco Giants (2009). The 10-time All-Star finished his 22-year career in the Major Leagues with a record of 303-166, an ERA of 3.29 and 4,875 strikeouts, second only to Nolan Ryan’s 5,714. Johnson is one of four pitchers in MLB history with at least 300 wins and 4,000 strikeouts, along with Ryan, Roger Clemens and Steve Carlton. Johnson ranks second in Mariners franchise history in strikeouts and wins, as well as third in innings pitched. He was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2012 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. The Arizona Diamondbacks retired his number 51 in 2015.