Mariners Will Retire No. 51, Again, This Time For Hall of Famer Randy Johnson

Hall of Famer Randy Johnson's No. 51 will be retired by the Seattle Mariners during a pregame ceremony next season, the club announced Monday.

Johnson threw the first no-hitter in Mariners’ history on June 2, 1990 — 35 years ago Monday — and in 1995 became their first Cy Young Award winner.

The exact date of the ceremony will be announced after the 2026 major league schedule is finalized.

Johnson, 61, went 130-74 with a 3.42 ERA across 10 seasons with the Mariners.

"I’m happy that my contributions over the 10 years that I was there are being acknowledged now," Johnson said via Zoom. "It’s been a long time, that’s for sure."

Johnson enjoyed more success with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with whom he won four consecutive Cy Young Awards in addition to a World Series championship in 2001. However, the lanky left-hander nicknamed the "Big Unit" because of his 6-foot-10 frame fondly remembers his Seattle tenure.

A year Johnson looks back on with particular fondness is the 1995 season. The Mariners’ future in Seattle was cast into doubt when in September of that year, King County voters rejected subsidy taxes to build a new stadium.

Simultaneously, the Mariners enjoyed a prosperous season on the field at the Kingdome, which culminated in reaching the AL Championship Series before falling to the Cleveland Indians. Ultimately, the King County Council approved funding for a new stadium.

"Looking back at it now and that story being documented by the Mariners, it worked out," Johnson said. "I’m just thankful that I was a big part of that and everybody else was a big part of it, and everything just kind of jelled for all the players."

That season, Johnson went 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA during a 145-game season and won his first of five Cy