Matt Calkins: Randy Johnson finally takes rightful place among Mariners' all-time greats

Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times on May 4, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — Time doesn't necessarily heal all wounds, but winning might.

If there was animus between the Mariners and Randy Johnson in his final days in Seattle, it has been replaced by adoration.

Saturday night, the Big Unit's No. 51 was retired beside Jackie Robinson and fellow Mariners legends Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Ichiro at T-Mobile Park. The ceremony for the five-time Cy Young winner came 28 years after Johnson played his last game for the M's.

One could certainly argue the tribute was long overdue for — and this comes with apologies to Félix Hernández — the most dominant pitcher in franchise history. What can't be argued — what can't be denied when looking out to the bleachers in left-center field — is that his number belongs.

As much as anybody out there.

To the average fans watching Major League Baseball in the 1990s, Johnson was the 6-foot-10 force who was as imposing and intimidating as anybody who'd played the game. Once he mastered his mechanics in the early part of the decade, he became a strikeout machine who could take command of all nine innings of an outing.

Former Mariners reliever Norm Charlton was among those who gave a video tribute to The Unit, saying, "We loved it when you pitched, because it probably meant we had a day off." That was often true, with Johnson compiling 31 complete games between 1992-95 alone.

But to M's fans, he was something different. He was the linchpin to the most improbable and important season in franchise history. If Randy doesn't go 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 1995 — when the Mariners were 13 games back in the division at one point — if he doesn't win the regular-season playoff against the Angels, win Game 3 of the ALDS vs. the Yankees, and then get the win in relief in Game 5 — this team might not be in Seattle anymore.

That was essentially the season that got T-Mobile Park built. So until his number was retired Saturday, the stadium didn't quite feel complete.

Of course, Johnson was eventually traded to the Astros in 1998 after a subpar season in which tension between him and the team grew. Much of that tension remained well into his retirement — after he captured four straight Cy Young Awards with the Diamondbacks while also winning World Series MVP.

He was even quoted on a Mariners broadcast saying how previous Mariners chairman Howard Lincoln "swept (his accomplishments) under the carpet." Now, though? His accomplishments are immortalized in left-center … with a statue coming soon.

Among those in attendance Saturday were Griffey, Martinez, Ichiro, Jay Buhner and Hernández. That quintet paid their respects to Johnson via video along with Harold Reynolds, Jamie Moyer, Mike Cameron, members of Soundgarden and Guns N' Roses, and Mariners manager (and Johnson's former catcher) Dan Wilson.

But the man of the hour was a blissful Johnson who'd finally been honored in a manner befitting one of the team's all-time greats. His best years may not have been in Seattle, but this is where it started.

“I learned a lot here, on and off the field, and I will always be grateful for my time playing here and for the fans supporting us,” he said.

Of course, Johnson isn't the only No. 51 to be retired at T-Mobile. His number sits alongside Ichiro's 51, a number he instantly allowed the Japanese star to wear when he requested permission before his rookie season in 2001. The Unit said he was happy to do so, and told the T-Mobile Park crowd that Suzuki had done things on the baseball field that nobody else could. But he had a little fun earlier in the speech — thanking the older members of the crowd for "supporting the first 51 that was here."

Johnson had a lot of firsts in Seattle. He was the first to throw a no-hitter. He was the first to win the Cy Young. And though there is no official stat for winning a regular-season playoff game, winning a real playoff game and getting a win to close out a playoff series in a matter of a week, it felt like a first that will never be equaled.

The word "unique" is often confused with "rare. Its true meaning is one-of-a-kind. That was Randy Johnson. An all-time great player — and all-time great Mariner.

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