Seattle Mariners Insider Doesn't Believe Dan Wilson and Edgar Martinez Solely Fixed M's Offense
The Seattle Mariners went 85-77 this past season, finishing one game out of a playoff spot in the American League. It's the second straight year that the Mariners finished one game out of the playoffs, an incredibly disappointing result for a franchise that has been full of them.
However, there were reasons for optimism at the end of the season. Julio Rodriguez looked like Julio Rodriguez again and the trade deadline acquisitions of Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner were paying dividends as well.
There was also reason to believe that the new coaching tandem of Dan Wilson (manager) and Edgar Martinez (hitting coach) were part of the solution, given the team's offensive turnaround over the final month of the season.
However, M's Insider Luke Arkins wrote a lengthy (and well-researched) piece on Wednesday saying that he isn't ready to give all the credit to the M's legends.
From a portion of that piece:
Something else to consider. How much should we buy into Robles’ torrid end to the season? The Dominican Republic native produced a gawdy 1.033 OPS during the Mariners’ final 34 contests. Do we expect that he’ll repeat this level of productivity over a full season next year?
Perhaps time will prove me wrong. Hopefully, it will. But I have reservations about Robles and will take a wait-and-see approach with him. Let’s not forget that Rojas had a 1.029 OPS through Seattle’s first 34 games this year. How did that work out for both player and team?
Some fans are giving Dan Wilson and Edgar Martínez full credit for the #Mariners offense catching fire in September.
— Luke Arkins (@luke_arkins) October 30, 2024
I’m not buying it. https://t.co/1njtLKVZaX
Let me just say this: Arkins is right about a lot of things in his piece. The 34-game sample with Martinez/Wilson was a small sample. Furthermore, there are all kinds of variables you have to take into consideration. For instance, the Mariners saw Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer on multiple occasions over those last 34 games. Both pitchers were on pitch counts and coming back off injuries. Had they seen deGrom for seven innings instead of three, things might look different. Furthermore, they played an emotionally-gassed Oakland Athletics team in the final series of the season. There's no telling how those four games - and four wins - really impacted things. The situation surrounding those games is not repeatable, and therefore not something that can be predictive for 2025 and beyond.
However, I do want to point out that the players themselves spoke positively and publicly about the new regime. JP Crawford said this back on Sept. 6. The idea of a simplified approach was certainly something that they took to and bought into. Rodriguez spoke about Martinez's impact as well. You can see that in this article from the Seattle Times.
For an organization that has fumbled coaching situations, player personnel decisions and contract discussions, a little faith goes a long way. The fact that Martinez and Wilson got buy in from the players is not something that can be overlooked.
So, do they deserve all the credit? No. But, they certainly deserve some.
Follow Inside the Mariners on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE:
