Mariners retiring ‘Big Unit’ Randy Johnson’s No. 51 during 2026 season
The Big Unit recognizes the lengthy wait — but Randy Johnson’s No. 51 will finally ascend into Mariners immortality.
The Seattle Mariners will retire Johnson’s No. 51 during the 2026 season, announced on the 35th anniversary of his no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers on June 2, 1990. The 6-foot-10 southpaw appeared in 10 seasons with the Mariners (1989-98) and his 2,162 strikeouts in a Seattle uniform rank second in team history.
“When I stepped over the line, I was very animated and emotional, and a lot of people might not want to be in my path,” Johnson said Monday. “But I also never forget the places that I’ve been, and the people that helped me get where I’ve been, nor will I ever forget that.
“That’s why I’ve always felt like Seattle had a big impact on my career.”
When Johnson first heard the news, he had one contingency — to wait until the 2026 season for his number retirement, so as not to interfere with Ichiro’s approaching Hall of Fame induction. Both Mariners icons will have their own No. 51 displayed alongside Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr. (24), Edgar Martinez (11), and the league-retired No. 42 that honors Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson.
“I know the significance of Ichiro and his accomplishments, and I didn’t want to interfere with his Hall of Fame induction or number retirement this year,” Johnson said. “If this was going to happen, I didn’t want to take away from his deserving day. It would have to be done a different day, a different year, because he deserves to have his own day for all of his accomplishments.”
Johnson’s no-hit masterpiece exactly 35 years ago was the first in team history and sparked his Hall of Fame career, posting a 290-150 record and 3.21 career ERA from that day on.
The exact date of Johnson’s number retirement will be announced by the team after MLB finalizes its 2026 schedule.
On May 25, 1989, the Mariners acquired Johnson in a five-player trade that sent Mark Langston to the Montreal Expos, now considered one of the best deals in team history. Despite leading the American League in walks for three consecutive seasons from 1990-92, Johnson emerged as one of the game’s best pitchers in ‘93, amassing a 19-8 record with a 3.24 ERA and 308 strikeouts.
He went on to play for six teams across 22 major league seasons and collect five Cy Young Awards, including Seattle’s first in 1995, when Johnson went 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA. He threw two no-hitters — the 1990 gem inside the Kingdome and MLB’s 17th perfect game with the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 18, 2004.
Johnson retired after the 2009 season with a career 303-166 record and 3.29 ERA with 4,875 strikeouts, second in MLB history to Nolan Ryan (5,714). He was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2012 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, when the Arizona Diamondbacks retired his No. 51.
“I’m proud that I had a significant role in two different franchises, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners,” Johnson continued, who carried Arizona to the 2001 World Series title. “A lot of people, I think, were hurt and disappointed that, when the time came in 2015, I picked the Arizona Diamondbacks to represent in the Hall of Fame.
“But I had to think with my statistics in my head, and the emotions I had to leave out of the equation. Everything I did here in Arizona was just a little bit more than what I had done in Seattle.
“But that’s not to take away what I did in Seattle. It was significant, it really was. And people need to understand that. It wasn’t an easy decision. … I pitched a no-hitter (in Seattle), I pitched a perfect game here. I pitched in playoff games there, I helped the team win the World Series here. I won a Cy Young there, I won four here.
“If we could split the hat, and put a little bit of an M and a little bit of an A… I don’t know if we could’ve done that. But I didn’t try to ever disrespect the Seattle Mariners.”
The notion that Johnson “left” Seattle bothered him in earlier years after the Mariners dealt him to Houston in the final hours of the 1998 trade deadline: “I was traded,” he told reporters on Monday’s media call. “I didn’t walk away. I think that’s something I still hear from fans occasionally, for whatever reason.
“When you’re pitching for the fans, and then a fan says, ‘Well, he left Seattle,’ I didn’t leave Seattle. I was traded. It bothered me then. I’m over it now.”
Three years later, Ichiro penned a letter to Johnson requesting to wear his No. 51 upon joining the Mariners in 2001, a courtesy that “honored” the former Seattle left-hander.
“I said, ‘Go for it,’” Johnson recalled. “‘Wear it.’
“Ichiro had 10 amazing years there. He’s probably, arguably, the best hitter that’s ever played in MLB, next to Pete Rose. … I know what he did because I’m a pitcher and faced him a few times, and he did it against me.”
The 27-year-old rookie from Japan remembers the pressure of donning a number recently tied to the franchise’s all-time best arm: “When I first got the No. 51, I knew that No. 51 was a special number,” he said during his Hall of Fame news conference in January. “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 No. 51 was (done) justice, make sure that 51 wasn’t going to be embarrassed. And I felt like if No. 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.”
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Mariners retiring ‘Big Unit’ Randy Johnson’s No. 51 during 2026 season."
