> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Randy Johnson’s Legacy with Mariners is Indelible - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/randy-johnsons-legacy-with-mariners-is-indelible/ - Published: 2026-05-02T02:05:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:55:55.000Z - Author: Nick Lee - Tags: Analysis, Randy Johnson, Mariners \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3900"\] ![ Seattle Mariners pitcher (51) Randy Johnson in action against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Skydome. Mandatory Credit: Photo By; Imagn Images (c) Copyright Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/seattle-mariners-pitcher--2851-29-randy-johnson-in-action-against-the-toronto-blue-jays-at-the-skydome--mandatory-credit-3a-photo-by-3b-imagn-images--28c-29-copyright-imagn-images-format-original.jpg) Seattle Mariners pitcher (51) Randy Johnson in action against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Skydome. Mandatory Credit: Photo By; Imagn Images (c) Copyright Imagn Images \[/caption\] The Seattle Mariners are set to retire Randy Johnson’s No. 51 this weekend during their series against the Kansas City Royals. The festivities kick off with “Randy Johnson ‘80s Jersey Night” on Friday. The ceremony will be held before Saturday’s game. It’s not very often that a franchise has two of its icons wear the same number. Ichiro Suzuki also wore No. 51 for Seattle, which was retired on August 9, 2025, after he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. “The Big Unit,” Randy Johnson, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015\. Now, 11 years later, he gets the ultimate honor from the Seattle Mariners of having his number retired. He was also inducted into the Mariners’ franchise Hall of Fame in 2012. The 6-10 lefty pitched for 22 seasons in the big leagues from 1988 to 2009\. He debuted with the Expos in 1988 but struggled with control early in his career. On May 25, 1989, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners (in a deal often called one of the biggest in franchise history) in exchange for Mark Langston. Even though he pitched for six different MLB teams, his 10-season tenure with Seattle was his longest. He brought in a new era of Mariners baseball. He arrived on the Mariners the same year some 19-year-old kid came up to the team named Ken Griffey Jr. Along with Edgar Martinez, those three formed as solid a trio of players as you will find on any baseball team. Johnson earned his first All-Star bid of his career in 1990, his first full year in Seattle. Three years later, he brought his game to a new level. From 1993 to 1997, he earned four All-Star selections, winning Cy Young in 1995, and totaled almost 1,200 strikeouts in 916 innings, with a 2.86 ERA in that span. Perhaps his most legendary moment as a Mariner came in “Game 163” in 1995\. It was an AL West tiebreaker game against the California Angels at the Kingdome in Seattle. The Mariners had overcome a 13-game deficit in August to force a one-game playoff for the division title. Johnson got the nod as the starting pitcher. The franchise's first-ever postseason appearance was on the line. In one of the most dominant efforts you will ever see from a pitcher with his team’s season hanging in the balance, Johnson came through. He tossed a complete game, allowing just one solo homer and three total hits. He struck out 12 with just one walk, springboarding the Mariners to a 9-1 win, sealing the AL West crown and sending the Mariners to the playoffs for the first time ever. He wasn’t done. He made four appearances in their 1995 postseason run, totaling 25 1/3 innings with a solid 2.49 ERA. Some people forget that in the game that featured the famous “Double,” a walkoff double from Edgar Martinez in the 11th inning of Game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees, Randy Johnson appeared in a relief effort. Johnson entered the game in the top of the ninth, with the game tied 4-4\. After Norm Charlton surrendered a double and a walk to open the inning, Johnson came in with the situation already very tense. He struck out Hall of Famer Wade Boggs and retired Bernie Williams and Paul O’Neill to get the Mariners out of that jam. He then tossed two more innings to set the stage for that iconic moment with Griffey rounding third and scoring the walk-off run. Even with him allowing a run in the top of the 11th, the Mariners don’t get that moment without Randy Johnson’s role as a relief pitcher. The relationship between Johnson and the Mariners’ brass soured over the years, culminating in a bitter split. Johnson signed a four-year, $20.25 million extension in 1993, but tensions rose after a 1996 bulging disc in his back required surgery. He pitched in relief late that year but was shut down. He rebounded strongly in 1997 (despite lingering back discomfort), yet the Mariners picked up his $6 million option for 1998 only late in the season and refused to discuss a further extension. Eventually, the Mariners cut ties with Johnson, trading him to the Astros at the deadline in 1998\. Johnson felt betrayed, having "saved" the franchise with his 1995 heroics and played through pain. Things did not end well in Seattle. He went on to have a stellar back half of his career, especially eight seasons in Arizona. He won a mind-blowing four consecutive NL Cy Young Awards with the Diamondbacks from 1999 to 2002. He was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series with Curt Schilling. All in all, it was a first-ballot Hall of Fame career for The Big Unit. Only Nolan Ryan has more career strikeouts than Johnson’s 4,875. He spoke highly of his time in Seattle during his Hall of Fame speech in 2015, despite the messy breakup. Clearly, relationships have improved, as this weekend is an entire celebration of his nearly decade in Seattle. And it’s well-deserved and long overdue.