SEATTLE — A big honor is coming for “The Big Unit.”
The Seattle Mariners are set to officially retire Randy Johnson’s number 51 during a pre-game ceremony at T-Mobile Park on May 2, 2026.
Johnson’s number 51 will be the fifth number retired in Mariners history, joining fellow Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (#24), Edgar Martinez (#11) and Ichiro Suzuki (#51). As with all MLB teams, the Mariners have also retired Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson’s #42.
In addition to Johnson’s number retirement ceremony on May 2, the Mariners will also host Randy Johnson ‘80s Jersey Night presented on May 1 with giveaways for the first 20,000 fans.
Johnson came to Seattle in 1989 in a trade with the Montreal Expos. The “Big Unit” had his breakout season in 1993 when he went 19-8 with 3.24 ERA and the first of his six 300-plus strikeout seasons. Overall, he posted a 130-74 record with two saves, a 3.42 ERA over 1838 1/3 innings pitched, along with 51 complete games with Seattle. The 6-foot-10 left-hander struck out 2,162 batters in 274 games (266 starts). He remains among the all-time franchise leaders in strikeouts (second) and wins, starts and innings pitched (third). Johnson was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2012 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. The Arizona Diamondbacks retired his #51 in 2015.
Johnson had a 22-year Major League career, playing for six teams, including the Mariners from 1989-1998. He was traded to the Houston Astros when Seattle elected not to offer Johnson a new contract due to concerns about a 1997 back injury.
He also played for the Montreal Expos (1988-89), Houston Astros (1998), Arizona Diamondbacks (1999-2004, 2007-08), New York Yankees (2005-06) and San Francisco Giants (2009). He won five Cy Young Awards (1995, 1999-2002), 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).
Johnson retired following the 2009 season with a career win-loss record of 303-166, an ERA of 3.29 and 4,875 strikeouts, second only to Nolan Ryan’s 5,714. Johnson is among just four pitchers in MLB history with at least 300 wins and 4,000 strikeouts, joining Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, and Steve Carlton. In addition to his 10 trips to the All-Star Game (1990, 1993-95, 1997, 1999, 2001-02) and five Cy Young Awards (1995, 1999-2002), Johnson led the league in ERA four times (1995, 1999, 2001, 2002) and strikeouts 10 times (1992-1995, 1998-2002, 2004). He was 2001 World Series co-MVP with Curt Schilling, and during his career, Johnson defeated every Major League team at least once.
Herald News Services contributed to this report.
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