SEATTLE – Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais have begun reconciling with players who were mentioned directly by former president and CEO Kevin Mather in a video posted online.
The message of the last two days addressed to those affected was: they have every right to be offended.
“We are very open with the players and we ask them the same thing. If they want to be upset, they should be. They should feel insulted, “Dipoto admitted on Tuesday.” But at the same time, collectively, they are motivated by what we want to do as a team. “
The video, which was released over the weekend, shows Mather expressing his opinion on the team’s management strategy and making controversial comments about some players. In a virtual conference, he spoke contemptuously of the Japanese Hisashi Iwakuma, a former pitcher, and of the Dominican prospect Julio Rodríguez, for mastering the English language. He also acknowledged that the team manipulated the service time of other young players.
Mather apologized on Sunday and abruptly resigned the next day, but not before shaking the foundations of the organization that began training in Arizona.
Dipoto and Servais are upset.
“I’m embarrassed that this is the way they see us, because for those who have been with me or Scott or the team, not the way we do things,” Dipoto said. “It is a shame to be cataloged or treated with the stigma we are in now and we must get rid of it. It is something we will have to take on and we have to take responsibility for and find a way to grow and overcome it ”.
Seattle player Marco Gonzales said on Tuesday after the first full team training that the players are upset by the comments and are irritated by the distraction.
Gonzales indicated that players see Mather’s comments as the opinion of a person, “who is not close to us. He’s not here to throw the ball. He doesn’t hit here. “
Mather’s most inflammatory comment was about Iwakuma and Julio Rodríguez’s English.
Servais mentioned his experiences in the winter leagues in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and the sailors’ expedition to Japan to start the season two years ago.
“It simply came to our notice then. Then you really understand what foreign players have to go through. Not only in communication, but also in understanding how to play at the highest level, “Servais said.” No one values more than me and it’s something I take with great sensitivity. “
Mather also angered the players’ union, saying that neither Jarred Kelenic nor Logan Gilbert will be in the major league team on the first day as a way to maintain control in the long run.
These comments have especially attracted backlash from other major leagues, and Dipoto noted that this is a stigma that sailors will have to take.
“Every player should be aware of the Mariners news,” said Gerrit Cole, a New York Yankees player who is one of eight players on the union’s executive subcommittee. that’s how a lot of clubs work. This is a guy who talks about players making money. The product is the people he talks about so badly. It’s kind of annoying. “
Both Servais and Dipoto ensured that the decisions on the list were not made and that the plans for Kelenic and Gilbert were exposed and communicated to both players.
“All our players know what their direction is, what their development plan is and we are very direct to share it,” Dipoto said.