Seattle Mariners Manager Dan Wilson Talks Mentality Change Under Hitting Coaches
The Seattle Mariners have officially begun spring training. And there will be a lot attention paid to the offense.
The Mariners made minimal additions to the lineup this offseason coming off a year where they led the league in strikeouts (1,625). Despite the overall struggles, Seattle did see a bump in the offense's numbers over the last six weeks of the season once manager Dan Wilson and hitting coach (now senior director of hitting strategy) Edgar Martinez were hired.
The Mariners hired long-time Atlanta Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer to take over the same role in the offseason after Martinez's move to his current position. And there's been questions whether Seattle can transfer the success they had over the last six weeks of 2024 in 2025.
In a news conference posted to the Mariners' YouTube channel on Feb. 13, Wilson was asked about the change in the team's approach under the new hitting instructors and the mental and physical changes with it.
"This game is hugely mental, we know that," Wilson said in the news conference. "And a mental shift can make a huge difference. And I think that's definitely part of it. There's also physical changes that happen because of a mental mindset change. Those things happen. So it's a combination of both. And that's what makes this game so great, is that the mental side can affect the physical side and vice versa. ... What they were able to do towards the end, the shifts they made both physically and mentally, made all the difference. And that's where we pick up and hopefully we pick right where we left off."
In the interview, Wilson also mentioned the similarities in hitting philosophies between Martinez and Seitzer. He also confirmed that the version of the offense that was seen in the last six weeks of the season would be what the coaching staff emphasizes going forward.
It's hard to know where the floor and ceiling is for Seattle in 2025. Many returning players had down or injury-plagued seasons in 2024 (or both). But if the last six weeks are an indication of what the Mariners can be at their best, then the offense could be better than some anticipate.
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