Seattle Mariners Owner Discusses Fan Disappointment in 2024 Season
The Seattle Mariners have an interesting offseason ahead of them as they try to take advantage of a core of players that includes the best starting rotation in baseball and two franchise cornerstones in Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh.
The combination of those players and other key contributors come at a relatively cheap price, with Julio Rodriguez being the only "young" player signed to a long-term extension.
But even with all of their best players under team control for the near future at a relatively cheap price, the Mariners still missed out on the postseason. This past season was the 22nd time in 23 years that the franchise missed out on the playoffs and the fan disappointment is palpable.
There were clamors to fire nine-year manager Scott Servias, which happened, and President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto (which didn't happen). Seattle hired Dan Wilson as the new manager and brought in team legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez as the hitting coach. And although the results were successful, the change happened too late in the season.
The fans' disappointment apparently isn't lost on the front office. In an article published by MLB.com's Daniel Kramer on Friday, team president and chairman John Stanton commented on the team missing the postseason:
“I love this place. I am present. I am here. I care deeply about this. I am as disappointed as any fan we have that this team hasn't been in the playoffs in two years. I believe we're making progress. I can certainly understand why fans are frustrated when they hear me say that, but I believe that we are on track to have a team that consistently wins over a long period of time. I intend this team to win, have a winning record every season, be in the playoffs most seasons and we will win a World Series.”
Stanton's words look good on paper, but actions speak louder. And there's a long way to go for Stanton to rebuild some good will back with the fan base after 2024, which will likely go down as one of the more disappointing years in franchise history.
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