Dan Wilson Officially Introduced as New Seattle Mariners Manager
SEATTLE — A new era is officially upon the Seattle Mariners.
One day after the organization fired nine-year manager Scott Servais, former catcher and team Hall of Famer Dan Wilson was officially introduced as the new skipper before Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants.
Wilson spoke with the media during a news conference to go over a variety of topics. The first thing he addressed was Servais getting fired and the respect he had for him.
"These situations are never easy," Wilson said on Friday. "Always a lot of emotion around these kind of things. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Scott has done here and the accomplishments he's had over his career with the Mariners. But really looking forward to what this team is in front of right now. Really excited for these last 34 games. ... This is going to be fun. I know these guys are ready to take it on. I'm excited with this opportunity."
Wilson has had some experience as a coach within the Mariners organization. He's also filled in as manager a couple times for some of Seattle's minor league affiliates. But Friday will be the first major league game he's ever managed.
It's through that coaching experience that Wilson has developed a relationship with some of the players currently on the team.
But there's still some players in that Wilson hasn't been able to get to know in the 24 hours he's been manager.
Wilson said that building those relationships will be important for the success of the team going forward but so far the conversations with the players have gone well.
"We had some good coversations," Wilson said. "I know (Edgar Martinez) had some good conversations, as well, with some of the hitters already. I think there's a good feeling. Obviously an off day yesterday helped erase a little bit of that road trip and now we're back home. I think these guys are ready to go and it's going to be an exciting series."
New Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson commented on what conversations have been like with players since taking the job.#Mariners #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/hnQU2phCcR
— Teren Kowatsch (@Teren_Kowatsch) August 23, 2024
Seattle's new manager seemed adamant in the news conference that the team was ready to turn the cheek during the last 34 games of the season.
"No team is going to hand us this playoff run," Wilson said. "What I've gone through in the past — you have to earn everything. So I think, hopefully, that's something that we can pass along fairly quickly and help these guys understand that. So far in the conversations we've had I feel like that's the understanding — that we got to go out there and take it."
The Mariners were 5.5 games behind the Houston Astros going into Friday. If the team does "go out there and take it," it'll have to start during Wilson's first game as skipper against San Francisco.
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