Seattle Mariners Manager Dan Wilson Reflects on Original Message to Team When He Was Hired
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The Seattle Mariners from March 28-Aug. 21 were almost a completely different team than the one that saw the field from Aug. 22-Sept. 29.
The one key differences were the hiring of manager Dan Wilson and hitting coach (now Senior Director of Hitting Strategy) Edgar Martinez.
Under Wilson and Martinez's oversight, the Mariners went 21-13 in the final 34 games of the season. The offense hit .255 with 42 home runs and 165 RBIs while stealing 42 bases. The duo replaced longtime manager Scott Servais and hitting coach Jared DeHart, who were let go.
There are still parts of me that don't believe how crazy it was seeing Victor Robles ball out like he did when he came over to Seattle. pic.twitter.com/ObqsYIyImn
— Trident True (@TridentTruee) November 21, 2024
Servais was the only manager in franchise history aside from Lou Piniella to lead the team to the postseason.
Wilson went on MLB Network on Tuesday at the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas and shared what his message was to the team when he got hired.
"I think, really, the message was — at the time we still had a chance to make the postseason, to get to the playoffs," Wilson said on MLB Network Tuesday. "The division, the Wild Card was still in reach. And really the message that I brought, and the whole staff brought, was let's just get ready to go to battle at seven o'clock every night. That's what we have to do. We have to get ourselves prepared mentally, physically and at seven o'clock, it's all hands on deck and we go all out and we try to get on top. ... And the guys really did it. And they responded so well in those tough situations."
The message seemed to resonate with the clubhouse based on how they played in the last 34 games of the season. Wilson won't have Martinez as his full-time hitting coach in 2025. But new hitting coach Kevin Seitzer will report to Martinez in the latter's new role.
If Wilson's message continues to hold in 2025, then the offense might perform a lot better than it did in the first half of 2024.
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