The Seattle Mariners made a major announcement on Monday morning, revealing that they will retire Randy Johnson’s No. 51 in a pregame ceremony in 2026.
The exact date of the 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. “During the 1995 season that changed the future of this franchise, his 18-2 record (in a 145-game season) was properly recognized with his first Cy Young Award.
The Mariners will be retiring Ichiro Suzuki’s No. 51 this August after he’s inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, so those two No. 51’s will join No. 42 (Jackie Robinson), No. 24 (Ken Griffey Jr.) and No. 11 (Edgar Martinez) as the only retired numbers in franchise history.
That 1995 season that Stanton referenced was one of the best of Johnson’s illustrious 22-year career. He played for the Montreal Expos, Mariners, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.
Johnson spent parts of 10 seasons with the Mariners, going 130-74 in that time. He had been acquired in 1989 via a trade with the Expos. He had a 3.42 lifetime ERA in Seattle, tossing 19 shutouts and 51 complete games. The most intimidating pitcher of his era, he had 2,162 strikeouts with Seattle in 1838.1 innings.
Johnson was traded by the Mariners to the Astros in the midst of the 1998 season. In that deal, the M’s got back shortstop Carlos Guillen and pitchers Freddy Garcia and John Halama, each of which were part of the team’s ALCS run in 2000 and 2001.
We had an opportunity during the 2024 season to talk about Johnson’s Mariners career with him. You can catch up on that here.
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