Attention baseball fanatics! The Seattle Mariners announced that they will retire the number 51 of the legendary left-handed pitcher Randy Johnson on May 2, 2026, in a pre-game ceremony.
In June, the team confirmed that Johnson’s number would become the fifth to be retired by the franchise, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24), Edgar Martinez (No. 11) and Ichiro Suzuki, whose number 51 was retired this summer. It should be noted that all MLB teams have retired Jackie Robinson’s number 42.
Johnson, with an outstanding career, achieved a record of 130-74 with an effectiveness of 3.42 in his 10 seasons with the Mariners.
I’m glad my contributions during the 10 years I was there are now recognized. It’s been a long time, that’s for sure.El zurdo miembro del Salón de la Fama, Randy Johnson, verá su número 51 retirado por los Mariners durante una ceremonia antes del juego el 2 de mayo de 2026. El “Big Unit” tuvo un récord de 130-74 con una efectividad de 3.42 en 10 temporadas con los Mariners.Although Johnson achieved greater success with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he won four consecutive Cy Young awards and a World Series in 2001, the left-handed pitcher, known as “Big Unit” for his imposing 6-foot-10-inch stature, holds a special memory of 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, he found his rhythm with a standout season in 1993, recording an impressive 19-8 record with an ERA of 3.24, marking the beginning of his six seasons with more than 300 strikeouts.
The 1995 season is particularly memorable for Johnson, who achieved an 18-2 record with an ERA of 2.48 and won his first of five Cy Young awards. The Mariners enjoyed a successful season at the Kingdome, reaching the American League Championship Series before falling to Cleveland.
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, surpassed only by 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 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.
