The Seattle Mariners will commemorate the achievements of celebrated pitcher Randy Johnson by enshrining his jersey No. 51 on May 2, 2026, the organization made known this Thursday. The event will be held with a ceremony before the game starts at T-Mobile Park located in Seattle.
The “Big Unit” became a Mariner through a transaction with the Montreal Expos back in 1989. He continued to be a part of Seattle for almost 10 years, and within that period of time the 6-foot-10 Johnson accumulated a record of 130 wins to 74 losses accompanied by a WAR statistic of 39.0. Johnson acquired the first of his total five Cy Young awards as a member of the Mariners in 1995. The Mariners traded him to the Astros in a deal that occurred during the 1998 deadline, and Johnson proceeded to experience an impressive stint with the Diamondbacks in his middle to later 30s.
Johnson’s career ended following the 2009 season with a WAR of 103.5; 303 career victories; 4,875 batters struck out; and participation for 22 seasons within MLB. His WAR total situates him as ninth highest amongst pitchers historically and only trails Nolan Ryan regarding career strikeouts. During his career, Johnson was selected for the All-Star game 10 times — half of these selections occurred while playing for the Mariners — and was awarded the World Series MVP with Arizona back in 2001. In addition, he holds a distinction of having pitched two no-hitters and exactly 100 complete games. Johnson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Johnson is slated to become the fifth individual to have their jersey number retired by the Mariners. He will be accompanying Ken Griffey Jr. (jersey No. 24), Edgar Martinez (jersey No. 11) and Ichiro Suzuki (who similarly sported jersey No. 51 and saw his number retired in 2025). Similarly to what all 30 teams in MLB have done, the Mariners have additionally retired Jackie Robinson’s jersey No. 42.
