SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners will retire Randy Johnson’s number during the 2026 season.
The team made the announcement on Monday – exactly 35 years to the date that the left-hander threw the team’s first no-hitter game ever. The team was playing the Detroit Tigers at the Kingdome.
Johnson’s number, 51, will be the fifth number to be retired in the team’s history, joining fellow Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (#24), Edgar Martinez (#11), and Ichiro Suzuki (also #51). Suzuki’s number retirement ceremony is taking place this year on August 9 at T-Mobile Park.
At his Hall of Fame news conference in January, Suzuki said:
“When I first got the number 51, I knew that number 51 was a special number. I knew it was a special number to the organization, and I knew that it was a special number to the fans here in Seattle. Obviously, I wanted to make sure number 51 was (done) justice, make sure that 51 wasn’t going to be embarrassed. And I felt like if number 51 was just an average player, I wouldn’t do Randy Johnson justice. I knew (what it meant) for that number to keep going and for that, I took very seriously. I needed to do well to make sure I performed well in that number. I remember feeling that pressure when I got that number.”
As with all Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, the Mariners have also retired Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson’s #42.
The exact date of Johnson’s retirement ceremony will be announced after the 2026 Major League Schedule has been finalized.
“Randy is both one of the greatest pitchers in Major League Baseball history, and one of the most important figures in our organization’s history,” Mariners Chairman and Managing Partner John Stanton said in a news release.
Randy Johnson’s Mariners career
Johnson came to Seattle in 1989 in a trade with the Montreal Expos. His nickname was “The Big Unit.”
“From his arrival in Seattle in 1989 and over the next decade, Randy helped define Mariners baseball in our region and across the country,” Mariners President of Business Operations Kevin Martinez said in a news release. “He was as fierce as any player in baseball, and he provided Mariners fans with some of the greatest moments in Seattle sports history.
Johnson had his breakout season in 1993 when he went 19-8 with a 3.24 ERA and the first of his six 300+ strikeout seasons. He remains among the all-time franchise leaders in strikeouts and wins, starts, and innings pitched.
He was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2012 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Randy Johnson’s MLB career
Johnson had a 22-year Major League career, playing for six teams,.
He also played for the Montreal Expos from 1988 to 1989.
From 1989 to 1998, he played for the Mariners.
He played for the Houston Astros for one season in 1998 before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks where he played from1999-2004 and again in 2007-2008. The Diamondbacks retired his #51 in 2015.
Between his two tours in Arizona, he played for the New York Yankees.
He finished his MLB career with the San Francisco Giants in 2009.
Johnson retired from the MLB following that season with a career win-loss record of 303-166, ERA of 3.29, and 4,875 strikeouts, second only to Nolan Ryan’s 5,714. He is among just four pitchers in MLB history with at least 300 wins and 4,000 strikeouts.
He won five Cy Young Awards, including the first by a Mariners pitcher when he went 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 1995. Johnson pitched two no-hitters—June 2, 1990, vs. Detroit and MLB’s 17th perfect game on May 18, 2004, at Atlanta with Arizona.
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