As we come closer to another baseball season, many Seattle Mariners fans ask the question, is this our year to make the playoffs? The last time the Mariners made a playoff appearance was 2001 during their Sweet 116 season.
Every year, fans get frustrated with the Mariners because they always start the season hot but then fizzle by the end and lose any lead they had. Or when they do catch fire, it’s too late. This last happened in 2018 when they had a 10-game lead over the Athletics for the final wild-card spot, but ended up losing their lead. With a strong performance in 2018 you would have thought the Mariners would have kept their team around from that season or they would’ve attempted to make an effort at some of the top free agents, but ended up doing neither and went into rebuild mode by trading away key players or letting them walk away. Among the players let go, were Edwin Diaz and Nelson Cruz, both key contributors during the season. This decision ended up being a mistake, as the Mariners finished the next season 68-94.
Now we enter the 2020 season with the Mariners being in the same position they were last year because they didn’t attempt to sign any players in free agency this offseason. I’m mostly blaming Jerry Dipoto for this because he wants to develop the younger players. That is a great thing to do build up younger players, but you need to have veteran players on the team who act as leaders and mentors for the younger players. With Dipoto saying “We don’t think we’re likely to threaten for a playoff position this year.” Come on, Jerry—you’ve been in Seattle since 2016 and it’s been a goal since day one to make the playoffs. You can’t be fine with taking two years from trying to make the playoffs. The time is now!
I believe this will be another year of disappointment for the Mariners, with the Mariners having one of their worst seasons ever and finishing with over 100 losses. If this is the case, it might be time for Jerry Dipoto to make a tough decision and relieve Scott Servais. However, I think this is unlikely because of the friendship Dipoto and Servais have. This conjures up thoughts of firing Dipoto or firing both of them. Which I’m sure the majority of fans would be fine with.
I would really like to see the Mariners make the playoffs and admit it’s been tough watching their long playoff drought among all North America sports teams. Only time will tell how the season will go, but it’s time to start mentally preparing for another long season of losing baseball in Seattle.
