The Seattle Mariners have announced they will retire the No. 51 in honor of pitcher Randy Johnson in 2026.
The team made the announcement on the the 35th anniversary of Johnson’s no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers in 1990, the first in franchise history.
If you’re of a certain vintage, you’ll recall that Johnson was traded from the Montreal Expos to the Seattle Mariners in 1989, in one of the more lopsided trades in MLB history. All the “Big Unit” did in Seattle, seemingly, was win. Over 10 seasons with the Mariners, Johnson won 130 games while posting a 3.42 ERA, with 2,162 strikeouts and five All-Star selections. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 1995 and was a runner-up in 1993 and 1997.
Mariners Chairman and Managing Partner John Stanton made the following statement:
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. 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.
More importantly, and somewhat lost to history, the Mariners were an amazing 27-3 in his 30 starts that season, an incredible 24 games over .500, compared to a record of 52-63 when any other starter took to the hill for the club. His domination that year carried the Mariners to our first-ever postseason, which led directly to the construction of T-Mobile Park and the Mariners remaining safely in Seattle forever.
Randy’s extraordinary accomplishments will forever be remembered and recognized with the retirement of his number 51.
All of this is pretty standard fare for a player who made such a large impact upon an organization.
But this one comes with a bit of a twist. You see, there’s another Seattle Mariner to wear the No. 51, and you may have heard of him. He was so good, he’s known almost exclusively by his first name: Ichiro. Ichiro Suzuki.
ICYMI, the Mariners announced this past January 21 — the same day Suzuki was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame — that they will be retiring Suzuki’s No. 51 in a pregame ceremony on August 9, held in conjunction with celebrating his enshrinement in Cooperstown in late July of this year.
Johnson will join former teammates Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24) and Edgar Martinez (No. 11), as well as Ichiro, as the only players in team history to earn the distinction.
The Big Unit was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, in his first year of eligibility, garnering more than 97% of the vote. An exact date for Johnson’s number retirement will be announced after the 2026 schedule is released, the Mariners said.
If you’re wondering why the Mariners didn’t retire Johnson’s No. 51 shortly after his HOF induction (as they are doing with Ichiro), that’s likely because Randall David Johnson’s HOF plaque depicts him wearing an Arizona Diamondbacks cap. Johnson went on to reach even greater heights with the D-backs, with whom he won four consecutive Cy Young Awards and won the 2001 World Series title.
Even though Johnson spent 10 seasons with the Mariners, the team did not retire his number after he was traded to Arizona, and it was issued to Ichiro when he began playing for Seattle. So once the number is dually retired next season, the M’s will have one number retired for two players, a rarity (perhaps the best example of a number being retired for two players is the Yankees with No. 8, which is retired for both Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra).
Your thoughts? And how do you feel about numbers being retired for two players? Should the M’s have held it out of circulation after Johnson’s departure or was it the right move to give it to Ichiro, who was already famous in Japan for wearing the No. 51?
Definitely a catch-.22 for the Mariners, but they put themselves in the situation by allowing Ichiro to have 51. And that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for them to do, but it prolonged the number retirement honor that the Big Unit deserved. Bottom line, it’s about time! And, he’s only 61, so he’s still young enough to appreciate the honor.
The A’s also have two dual retired numbers: #34 for Rollie Fingers (1993) and Dave Stewart (2022)
Yankees #8 retired for Berra and Dickey.
It’s not even limited to baseball. The Blackhawks retired # 3 for Keith Magnuson and Pierre Pilote. The Canadiens have two numbers retired for two players 12 (Dickie Moore and Yvan Cornoyer) and 16 (Henri Richard and Elmer Lach).
The Knicks retired #15 for both Earl Monroe and Dick McGuire.
Question is, which jersey number will it be? The royal blue or navy blue uni-numbers?
Those royal blue uniforms were for crap, definitely unsuited to a Major League team. Awful detailing.
While I get the reasons why they didn’t immediately retire his number, waiting this long just feels kind of disrespectful, considering he probably had the most impact of any pitcher to ever play for the Mariners (with the possible exception of Felix Hernandez, who definitely wins on longevity.)
Cubs have 31 retired for Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux.
Ichiro wrote a letter to Randy asking his permission to wear 51, and the Big Unit graciously allowed it.
Technically the Yankees have #42 retired twice
Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera
My question is will the mariners have 51 twice one with each name over top? Or will they have it just once, with both names above?
link
Looking at the reverse, which players have 2 different numbers retired?
First one for me is Kobe who has 8 and 24 retired by the Lakers.
Next is Reggie Jackson with 9 by the A’s and 44 by the Yankees.
Nolan Ryan (#30 Angels, #34 Astros and Rangers).
Carlton Fisk (#27 Red Sox, #72 White Sox).
A pair of 51s is fine, and they both earned it.
Live in Seattle.
Long time sports fan.
While this is an awkward dance, it’s not a big deal.
Ya know it really all started when Randy wanted the big bucks, but had a back injury. M’s weren’t willing to take the risk.
Houston offered $$$ so he went there, did ok, then moved on to Diamondbacks.
The rest is history!
He had a so-so 1998 season through the end of July, he was in his walk year and Seattle was out of contention. So the Mariners traded him to the Astros at the deadline for Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and player-to-be-named later, John Halama. He had a great two months with the Astros, but after the season, the Diamondbacks offered him the big free-agent contract.
The Expos/Nationals also have a dual retired No. 10 for Rusty Staub (Le Grande Orange) and Andre Dawson.
He went to Houston via trade. Arizona gave him a big contract.
Celtics have #18 retired for Dave Cowens and “Loscy” on the banner for Jim Loscutoff. Apparently Jungle Jim didn’t want his number retired so the team chose to honor the player through his nickname, allowing Cowens to wear 18 and play well enough to earn the honor of hanging it in the rafters.