Seattle Mariners Will Join Rare Baseball History When They Retire No. 51 Twice

The Mariners announced on Monday that Randy Johnson will have his No. 51 retired by the team in 2026, and he'll join Ichiro Suzuki in having that same number retired. How many teams have retired the same number for two different players?

Seattle Mariners former player Ichiro Suzuki against the San Diego Padres during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex on March 15. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On Monday, the Seattle Mariners announced that they will retire Randy Johnson's No. 51 during the 2026 season. This will follow the team retiring that same No. 51 for Ichiro Suzuki in a ceremony this August.

So, how many teams have retired the same number in honor of two different players? According to Alex Mayer of Mariners PR, it will be eight once the Mariners take the step.

The Cubs have retired No. 31 for both Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux, while the Reds have retired No. 5 for Willard Hershberger and Johnny Bench. Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson both have No. 10 retired by the Expos/Nationals and the Yankees have No. 8 retired for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra. Furthermore, the Yankees also have No. 42 retired for Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera, and the St. Louis Cardinals have No. 42 retired for Robinson and Bruce Suter. Finally, No. 34 is retired by the A's for Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart.

Full List: pic.twitter.com/Ondro7zbZM

— Alex Mayer (@alexmayer34) June 2, 2025

Retiring No. 51 for both players is certainly a fair decision given how productive both players were in Seattle and the impact that both had on the franchise.

Johnson spent parts of 10 seasons with the Mariners, going 130-74 in that time. He had been acquired in 1989 via a trade with the Montreal Expos and stayed until he was traded in 1998. He had a 3.42 lifetime ERA in Seattle, tossing 19 shutouts and 51 complete games. The most intimidating pitcher of his era, he had 2,162 strikeouts with Seattle in 1838.1 innings. He helped lead the M's to their first playoff appearance in 1995, going 18-2 and winning the American League Cy Young. He also went 20-4 in 1997.

Ichiro was a professional for 28 seasons between his time in Japan and the United States. He played for the Mariners, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins, earning more than 4,300 combined professional hits. He was a 10-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glover. He also won two batting titles and three Silver Slugger Awards.

He helped the Mariners to an American-League record 116 wins in 2001 and also helped the M's get to the American League Championship Series that same year. Sadly, he never got to the playoffs with the Mariners again, but his legacy lives on. He won the Rookie of the Year and the American League MVP that season.

He'll be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27.

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NEW PODCAST IS OUT! Brady is back for another episode of "Refuse to Lose," as he talks about the news of Randy Johnson's No. 51 retirement in 2026. Also, we play Johnson's comments on his displeasure that this hasn't happened already and we go back to the situation around Johnson's departure. Then, Josh Rawitch, the President of the Baseball Hall of Fame, stops by to talk about Ichiro's impending induction to Cooperstown. And oh yeah, Cal Raleigh is on a historic hot streak. CLICK HERE:

BIG ANNIVERSARY: June 2nd is a huge day in M's history, as it was the day that the Mariners selected Ken Griffey Jr. No. 1 overall in 1987. CLICK HERE:

GETTING HIS DUE: Randy Johnson will have his No. 51 retired by the Mariners in 2026, marking the fifth number to be retired by the franchise. CLICK HERE:

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