The Seattle Mariners have announced plans to retire former Mariner great Randy Johnson’s #51 jersey at a ceremony sometime next season.
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 2 saves, a 3.42 ERA and 51 complete games with Seattle, striking out 2,162 in 274 games. He remains among the all-time franchise leaders in strikeouts and wins, starts and innings pitched, among other categories. 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’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, this year on Aug. 9). As with all MLB teams, the Mariners have also retired Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson’s #42.
