Thursday is the Anniversary of an Infamous Day in Seattle Mariners History

This is a day that will live in Mariners lore forever.

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander talk to the media prior to the game against the Boston Red Sox at T-Mobile Park in 2023. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

One year ago today (Oct. 3), Seattle Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto delivered one of the most infamous soundbytes in team history by insinuating that the organization was seeking only to win 54 percent of its games.

Furthermore, Dipoto said that the organization was doing the fanbase a "favor" by not going all-in to win the World Series each year.

The popular @MarinerMuse "X" account posted the clip:

In which Jerry Dipoto says the Mariners goal is to win 54% of the time and “we’re actually doing the fan base a favor” by operating how they do. pic.twitter.com/rhglaZmb57

— Mariner Muse (@MarinerMuse) October 3, 2023

Dipoto was panned universally for his comments. Shouldn't the goal every year to be to win the World Series? Shouldn't teams seek to win 100 percent of their games?

If you really parse out what Dipoto is saying, it does make some sense. He's saying that the organization wants to build a team that is sustainably good rather than mortgage large parts of its future for a short-window run. Teams think like that all that time, however, at some point, you have to be willing to cash in the chips. To stick with the poker analogy, the Mariners appear content to just stay in the game, rather than try to win the pot. And that attitude has seen them miss the playoffs in three of the last four years. Sure, they've had winning records and played meaningful baseball in September, but just being competitive hasn't been enough.

For a fanbase that has never seen its team get to the World Series, the patience is running out. This group wants to see its team actually play meaningful baseball in October.

It's up to Dipoto to make it happen.

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