The Big Unit’s big number will soon be retired by the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park, joining the ranks of Ken Griffey, Jr, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro Suzuki, and Jackie Robinson on May 2, 2026, when the Mariners play
the Kansas City Royals. The Mariners first announced this would be happening in the 2026 season at fellow #51 wearer Ichiro’s number retirement ceremony in August. Additionally, the Mariners will host a Randy Johnson ’80s Jersey Night on May 1, where the first 20,000 fans in attendance will receive throwback Johnson jerseys. I hope they are the 1989 road greys, personally.
The Mariners ownership and front office famously treated Johnson like garbage during the 1990’s in spite of his evolution in the game’s most singular and dominant pitcher of his era. Johnson and the organization seemed to start mending their relationship sometime following his retirement in 2009 and he began making occasional appearances at the stadium to throw out the first pitch and things of that nature. A few years later, he was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2012 and into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. So, it seemed like the door was open for the Mariners to eventually retire his number and give him the full recognition he deserves as one of the literal saviors of the baseball team thanks to his efforts in the 1995 season when the team almost left Seattle for Tampa due to the local government’s balking at building a new stadium. That’s a whole ‘nother story, though.
There had long been speculation around Ichiro wearing the same 51 as the Big Unit and in recent years it became wildly known that not only did Ichiro reach out and ask for Johnson’s permission to wear the number that had such significance to his NPB career, Johnson was more than happy to give him his blessing and the two have seemingly kept in touch over the years. So, it turns out there’s no rule against retiring a number twice and so all the hand-wringing over the years by fans (which was always tinged with a bit of racism against Ichiro) was all for nothing. Once Ichiro, who played almost his whole career with the Mariners and remained very loyal and present post-retirement, had his day in the sun with his Hall of Fame induction and number retirement in 2025, it seemed to provide the organization the space to do the right thing with Johnson. Two legendary 51 wearers, two number retirements.
So, fellow old Mariners fans and fans of 90’s nostalgia, mark your calendars for May 2 because it will surely be a ceremony to remember.
