Seattle Mariners Executive Jerry Dipoto Discusses Team's Refined Hitting Strategy
The Seattle Mariners are still looking for answers to their needs in the infield with 2025 just around the corner.
The Mariners have been tied with several players via rumors but there haven't been any transactions made in relation to the reports about potential trades.
Whoever Seattle acquires for first, second and third base, they'll be joining the rest of the team in experiencing the first season under new hitting coach Kevin Seitzer.
Seitzer was hired by the Mariners after a near decade-long stint with the Atlanta Braves, where his offense averaged ninth in the the majors in batting average.
Seitzer will be reporting to Edgar Martinez, who was hired as the Senior Director of Hitting Strategy after spending the last 34 games of 2024 as the hitting coach.
The hope is to streamline the hitting strategy that was successful during Martinez's stint as the hitting coach to end 2024.
Under Martinez, Seattle saw an increased ability to use the middle and opposite side of the field. According to a story from the Seattle Times' Adam Jude, the Mariners improved from last in the league in opposite field-hit percentage (21.8%) to average under Martinez (24.3%). Franchise star Julio Rodriguez saw his opposite field hit-rate increase from 24.8% through Aug. 22 to 35.7% after Martinez took over.
Victor Robles. Again.
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) September 15, 2024
His third knock of the game. And with it, each of the Mariners’ four runs today have been scored with two outs. pic.twitter.com/CgJjUbeI3h
Rodriguez, team captain JP Crawford and other Seattle players praised Martinez for his coaching. Despite the fact that Martinez won't be traveling with the team full-time in 2025, Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto sounded extremely excited about keeping the Hall of Famer on the staff, according a quote in Jude's story:
“What we saw for the last six weeks or so, it was really illustrative of the way we want to play. We want to be athletic. We want to move the game. You know, the same players who struggled to make contact (for most of the season) all of a sudden started making contact better, and we went from the worst contact team in the league to about league average for the last six weeks.”
Seattle struggled with strikeouts for most of 2024. At one point, the team was on pace to set the league record in that category. But the hiring of Martinez and manager Dan Wilson reinvigorated the team.
If the Mariners were an average offense for most of 2024, they would have been in the playoffs. And an entire offseason and regular season under Martinez and Seitzer might help the lineup raise to the level shown at the end of 2024.
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