Arizona Diamondbacks Retire Randy Johnson's No. 51

No. 51 will no longer be found on any Diamondbacks baseball jersey in the Arizona desert. During a lavish pregame ceremony at Chase Field on August 8, the Arizona Diamondbacks retired pitcher Randy Johnson’s jersey.

During the ceremony, the “Big Unit” entertained more than 40,000 fans with an enthusiastic drum performance on a drum set given to him by the Diamondbacks. The set was a replica of the set used by Neil Peart during the Rush’s 30th anniversary tour. Later that night, Johnson was also presented with a 51-inch corn dog.

Johnson said via Instagram, “What a great night at the ballpark. Thank You @dbacks & #Dback fans for making my retiring #51 so memorable. Now I need more drum lessons.”

The MLB tweeted, “It’s your day and your number forever. #RJ51”

The 6-foot-10-inch tall baseball player was born in Walnut Creek but attended Livermore High and currently lives in Arizona. In July, the baseball legend was inducted into the Class of 2015 National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Johnson, whose fastball was clocked 100 mph, was well-known for accidentally hitting and killing a dove while pitching a fastball during spring training in 2001. Johnson’s photography company logo pays homage to the fallen bird.

The exceptionally talented left handed pitcher garnered numerous sports awards during his time as part of six major league baseball teams between 1998 to 2009. While on the Arizona Diamondbacks, Johnson, then 40, pitched a perfect game in 2004.

Read more about Johnson’s amazing career here.

Video embed courtesy Arizona Diamondbacks via Twitter. Photo of Johnson’s perfect game in May of 2004 courtesy of YouTube.