Hall of Famer Randy Johnson Makes Rare Appearance at Seattle Mariners Spring Training
PEORIA, Ariz. — Spring training is often the time where greats of the past, present and future meet. And that's been the case for the Seattle Mariners this spring.
Mariners legends such as Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro Suzuki and Ken Griffey Jr. have all made appearances at big league camp. Wilson and Martinez have official coaching roles with the team, of course. Other team stalwarts like Franklin Gutierrez have been with the organization as well.
And one of the greatest pitchers in Seattle history made his 6-foot-10 presence felt on Wednesday at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz.
Randy Johnson was on one of the practice fields and was originally conversing with team majority owner/chairman John Stanton, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and manager (and his former catcher) Wilson. Soon after, the team's current ace Logan Gilbert, stepped on the field and introduced himself to Johnson.
Randy Johnson and Logan Gilbert chatting it up. #Mariners #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/QWGdYSzoQu
— Teren Kowatsch (@Teren_Kowatsch) March 12, 2025
A few minutes after, Gilbert's teammates and fellow members of Seattle's starting rotation, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller, joined the conversation.
Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo join the circle of wisdom. https://t.co/hCl8j62Aau pic.twitter.com/VJcvS3CIp7
— Teren Kowatsch (@Teren_Kowatsch) March 12, 2025
Johnson shared stories and advice from his playing days and his time in the minor leagues. And it seemed like the current starting pitchers were more than happy to take pointers from the National Baseball Hall of Famer.
"Really good to see Randy," Wilson said in a postgame interview Wednesday. "He was so great to share a lot of his knowledge and the experience he's had from his 22 years in the big leagues. And he talked a little bit about his minor league days. He really shared a lot. And it was great. I think our guys, especially the pitching staff, got a lot out of it. And just good to see him personally, on a personal note. It's been a little while and great to see him in camp, just appreciative that he stopped by and took the time to be with us today."
Johnson pitched for the Mariners for the better part of 10 seasons from 1989-1998. He had a 3.42 ERA with Seattle and struck out 2,162 batters in 1,838.1 innings pitched across 274 appearances (266 starts). He won the first of five career Cy Young awards in 1995 and made the All-Star game five times with Seattle (1990, 1993-95, 1997).
Though he's in the Hall of Fame officially as an Arizona Diamondback, he'll always be one of the best players in team history.
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