Mariners will retire No. 51 – a second time – for Randy Johnson in 2026

Randy Johnson will be the fifth Seattle Mariners player to have his number retired by the team.

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The club announced Monday that Johnson’s No. 51 will be retired during a pregame ceremony next season. The exact date of the ceremony will be revealed after the 2026 MLB schedule is released.

“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 John Stanton said in a release.

They didn’t come any more intimidating than the Big Unit 😤 pic.twitter.com/6BmcR67cAN

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 2, 2025

Johnson’s number retirement will mark the second straight year the M’s retire No. 51. The franchise is doing the same for Hall of Fame electee Ichiro Suzuki, whose number will go up at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 9 just two weeks after he’s inducted into Cooperstown.

The announcement of Johnson’s number retirement came on the 35th anniversary of the left-hander throwing the first-ever no-hitter in Mariners history.

Johnson is set to join Suzuki, Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Jackie Robinson as players whose numbers are retired by the Mariners.

Johnson, known as “The Big Unit,” spent 10 seasons with the Mariners after arriving in a trade with the Montreal Expos in 1989. The southpaw compiled a 130-74 record with a 3.42 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 2,162 strikeouts over 1,831 1/3 innings pitched. He won the AL Cy Young in 1995 and made four All-Star teams with Seattle.

A native of Walnut Creek, Calif., Johnson holds the franchise record with 19 shutouts, is second in pitching WAR, strikeouts and ERA, and third in wins and innings pitched.

Johnson, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015, helped Seattle reach the playoffs for the first time in 1995. He  member pitched a complete game against the Angels in a tiebreaker game to win the AL West. Johnson threw seven innings in a win over the Yankees in the ALDS just four days later, then threw three innings out of the bullpen two days later to help the M’s clinch the series in Game 5. The M’s went 27-3 in starts made by Johnson in 1995.

“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. “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 spent 22 years in the majors in total with Mariners, Expos, Astros, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Giants. He went 303-166 with a 3.29 ERA and 4,875 strikeouts over 4,135 1/3 innings. Johnson is second in MLB history in strikeouts and one of just 24 pitchers to win 300 games.

This spring, Johnson made a rare visit to Mariners camp in Arizona, where he caught up with manager Dan Wilson, his former longtime catcher with the Mariners, as well as spent time with members of Seattle’s pitching staff.

Oh yes, more please! The starters flocked to Randy when he visited #Mariners camp. Now the number retirement. https://t.co/dafDy7Z1n6 pic.twitter.com/8HptxR4TbC

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) June 2, 2025

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