Jerry Dipoto, Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh had kind words for the skipper, who could find himself in Manager of the Year consideration
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners are American League West champions for the first time since 2001, and will host either the Cleveland Guardians or Detroit Tigers in the best-of-five American League Divisional Series at a to-be-determined time Oct. 4 at T-Mobile Park.
Several players for the Mariners, such as Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Andres Munoz, Bryan Woo and others, reached new career-highs to help lead the team to the postseason.
Dan Wilson has guided the team to success in his first full season as the team's manager.
The long-time Seattle catcher (1994-2005) was hired as the team's skipper Aug. 22, 2024, the same day nine-year manager Scott Servais was fired from the same role. Wilson didn't have any prior experience as a major league manager, but received the vote of confidence from the front office that he would be the man for the job.
Wilson was unable to guide Seattle to the playoffs in 2024 and the club missed out on October by one game.
Wilson was successful this season, and became just the third manager in franchise history in addition to Lou Piniella and Servais to lead the team to the playoffs.
"Dan never waivers. The stress gets to everybody at some point, and you wear it a little bit. His level of patience (is a) relief to people around him," Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a pregame interview Sunday. "And it bleeds through to every player that he encounters. They know they can trust him, they know he believes in them on more than just the baseball player level. That's a unique thing for a major league manager. He doesn't think about the game first, he thinks about the person first."
Wilson's consistency has been something praised by players and front office executives alike, and the season he oversaw has him on the shortlist for American League Manager of the Year conversations.
"The big thing with Dan is he's consistent every day," Raleigh said in a postgame interview Sunday. "He did it for a long time as a catcher, in a tough position. He understands each role because he's had to deal with pitchers, position players, et cetera. I think that was one of the big things with him coming into this role as manager was just trying to be consistent and putting the trust in the guys. ... I think what separates him is just the trust he has in the guys and the confidence he puts in us every day."
Wilson's played a part of all four of the franchise's AL West titles. His first three as a player, and this fourth as the team's manager. It might be due to his time as a player and being on those division championship teams, but he's been vocal about the potential and talent the current roster has, and his ability to let them play their game has been appreciated by the players.
"His consistency every single day — he shows up and you know who he is," Rodriguez said in a postgame interview Sunday. "And he's been doing just that since throughout the whole year. And I feel like, in that way, just allow us to play. He allows us to play, be who we are and not restrict us in a way. I'm very happy of his work this year and how he tells us basically 'just play hard. Be yourself and have fun.'"
Wilson will have competition for a potential AL Manager of the Year award. Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Schneider is a candidate after leading his team to their first AL East title in a decade and the No. 1 seed in the AL postseason, and Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt could earn his second consecutive honor after turning his team in September and leading them to a playoff berth.
If Wilson earns the honor, he would become the only skipper in franchise history aside from Piniella (1995, 2001) to win the award.
RELATED MARINERS STORIES
SEVERAL MARINERS UP FOR ALL-MLB TEAMS: The Mariners could have several players named to All-MLB teams. CLICK HERE
HEAD MARINERS EXECUTIVE PRAISES JULIO RODRIGUEZ: Jerry Dipoto expressed his belief that this year is the most complete Rodriguez has been as a player. CLICK HERE
MARINERS CLOSE OUT SEASON WITH 6-1 LOSS AGAINST DODGERS: The Dodgers prevailed over the Mariners in the final regular season start of Clayton Kershaw's career. CLICK HERE
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!