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Seattle Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson in action against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum. RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Randy Johnson Needs to Clear Up History on Why He's Not in Hall of Fame as a Seattle Mariner

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 5:15 PM ET

On Tuesday night, Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson appeared on ROOT Sports's Seattle Mariners broadcast and took a flamethrower to the organization's prior ownership and how they handled his exit from Seattle in 1998 (and beyond).

Let's back up for a second:

1) It was announced last week that Johnson is going to have his No. 51 retired in a ceremony during the 2026 season at T-Mobile Park.

2) While Johnson is happy about that, he's clearly unhappy that it hasn't already happened and he pushed back on the narrative that he left Seattle in 1998, reminding everyone he was traded.

3) He also expressed bitterness at prior ownership for how they treated him then, and how they didn't honor him earlier. He made all this known in a recent sit down with the media after the news came out about his number retirement.

OK, now that we're caught up:

Johnson had this to say on Tuesday's television appearance (Thanks to Danny O'Neil for the transcription):

I think if they were expecting me to go in as a Seattle Mariner—in the Hall of Fame—then why didn’t Howard Lincoln circle back at some point when I retired to make me feel like my 10 years of contribution there—especially in 1995 when I won the Cy Young, 18-2, in the most important year to this point right now—I just felt like under his leadership I felt the 10 years of my contribution were kind of swept under the carpet.

"If they were expecting me to go in as a Seattle Mariner—in the Hall of Fame—then why didn’t Howard Lincoln circle back at some point when I retired ...

"Under his leadership I felt the 10 years of my contribution were kind of swept under the carpet."

-- Randy Johnson pic.twitter.com/OzmPYmU02I
— Danny O'Neil (@dannyoneil) June 11, 2025

And that's fine if Johnson really feels that way. Perhaps he would have gone into the Hall of Fame as a Mariner if the organization had been nicer to him after the fact. However, that's not what Johnson said a week ago in that media availability. Then? He said he went into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Diamondbacks because of stats.

And a lot of people, I think, were hurt and disappointed that when the time came in 2015 that I picked the Arizona Diamondbacks to represent in the Hall of Fame. But I had to think with my statistics in my head and, emotions, I had to leave out of the equation. Everything that I did here in Arizona was just a little bit more than what I had done in Seattle. But that's not to take away what I did in Seattle. What I did in Seattle was significant. It really was. And, people need to understand that it wasn't an easy decision. There's a lot to be said that if I could have picked Seattle, or I could have picked Arizona, but for everything that I did in Seattle, I kind of did a little bit more here in Arizona.

Look, I'm not trying to play got ya games with Randy Johnson. But here is what he said just last week.#TridentsUp https://t.co/CL8t1KkuFU pic.twitter.com/0lMAe7bpwW
— Brady Farkas (@RefuseToLosePod) June 11, 2025

Johnson spent 10 years with the Mariners, winning the Cy Young in 1995. He also helped the M's to their first playoff appearance that year. He won four Cy Young Awards and a 2001 World Series in Arizona.

It's perfectly acceptable that he picked the D-backs for his Hall of Fame team, but he's got to get the story straight now. The story can't be both ways.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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