The Most Low Key Terrible Ownership in Baseball

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The Seattle Mariners Have Terrible Owners...
Seattle loves the Mariners. It likes that for all their sports teams, but the Mariners really hold a special place in the hearts of those in the Emerald City. All they really want is a World Series victory. Hell, even an appearance would be cool at this point. After 18 years of false dawns, aimless rebuilds and a comical lack of power at time (seriously Russell Branyan led the Mariners in home runs with 15 in 2010 and he only played 57 games), 2022 appeared to be a turning point.
Seattle made the playoffs for the first time in 20 seasons and won the wild card series to boot. Now, it wasn’t pretty. The M’s were 10 games under .500 in mid-June and rode a 14-game winning streak in July into contention. But there was a buzz around the franchise with Julio Rodríguez and a staple of young arms creating a sense of excitement not seen since the days of Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.
Yet, the team has since regressed as ownership refuses to invest in upgrades. The foundation for something special is there. Instead of building upon it, the Mariners ownership group headed by John Stanton has opted to line their own pockets. And make no mistake, the M’s are a cash cow.
There is now a movement happening in the Pacific Northwest. Fans are beginning to rally against the fairly mysterious First Avenue Entertainment, which owns 90 percent of the franchise. Most local media outlets and individuals don’t want to touch the issue for fear of losing their access, but the Seattle Mariners are fighting back against the most low-key terrible ownership in baseball.
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[@OblivionRide_11]

I heard a guy say once the Seattle mariners are not a team. They're a business. Sad truth

[@theamateurobserver]

Very true

[@micmathers1]

I believe that was Howard Lincoln.

[@ericradford2142]

The only way the Mariners can get the losers’ mentality is to win.

[@yoferpher]

Major props for bringing up “Posse on Broadway”

[@S_Over_Street]

Thanks for bringing up the Seattle Mariners ownership as the main issue of them not really competing for a championship. Several things to note that wasn’t on this… Former Baseball Ops Kevin Mather got caught on a Zoom conference call w/ a local Rotary Club that was leaked to the public in which he confessed to manipulating the service time of prospects during the 2020 season. comments about the poor English-language skills of some of the team's foreign players, specifically complaining about needing to hire interpreters for players, such as former pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma and remarking on the poor English of Julio Rodríguez. And also the team's profits during the pandemic. Also during DiPoto’s press conference after the disappointing’23 season, he said the Mariners on the field main goal is to win about 54% of their schedule. This will haunt DiPoto for his tenure here.

[@ericradford2142]

Not if the Mariners win the AL West and go deep into the playoffs.

[@NewNewColt]

@@ericradford2142 Ha, you new here? Mariners don’t do that they just collapse at some point when the players realize that no the front office does not care about your success. Hence why they trade players away for cash considerations & a snickers to divisional playoff teams all the time.

[@ericradford2142]

@@NewNewColt yes. Try to stay positive for your Mariners once in a while. Staying positive makes you stronger

[@conradhauser17]

54% is 88:games won. And they still couldn't get the third wildcard

[@kennethblachlyjr3040]

Yep I am a life long Mariners fan too and everything you say is spot on. As you know they the ONLY MLB TEAM NEVER TO APPEAR IN A WORLD SERIES

[@kylewilson2819]

You missed the best one. Former owner Howard Lincoln was asked in 2002 to respond to fan accusations of inactivity following their 116 win season in 2001. Fans were irate that no moves were being made to augment that squad while main rivals Oakland and other AL opponents were all making moves for a run. Lincoln's response? "The goal of the Mariners is not to win a World Series, It is to field a competitive team year after year, to put itself in a position to win a World Series, and hope at some point that happens. We absolutely have to make money. No question, end of story.” The clubhouse and fans were IRATE! Club manager Lou Piniella was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays when he refused to stop publicly lobbying for improvements. GM Pat Gillick would be let go as well, and the team would be disassembled by 2004. In 2003, Pitcher Jeff Nelson openly criticized ownership for not adding to the team and being cheap. "It's frustrating for everybody in here, and it should be frustrating for the people who go out there and pay for tickets and pay these outrageous prices at these concession stands, They deserve a winner. Seattle, I think the whole city is aching for a winner, either the Seahawks, the Sonics or the Mariners. We have an opportunity to do that, and it's just unfortunate we didn't make a move. We have a good team, and we're in first place by four games. You watch these other contending teams -- New York, Boston, Oakland, Chicago -- they're very good teams as well, but they want to be better. And they better themselves by going out and making these trades. It's tough to sit here year after year and watch this team not do things to better themselves. I've never seen an impact player come to this team (at the trade deadline), nor have they ever seemed to go out and try to get one. Every year it's, 'Oh, we tried to make moves, we tried to make moves,' but other teams seem to do it." The Mariners ownership openly told Nelson to shut up, then proceeded to trade him to the Yankees less than a month later.

[@stug3719]

Wow.

[@dannydubya9410]

I don't blame DiPoto for making weird trades, because the owners keep him on a leash and refuse to spend a red penny I blame DiPoto for keeping his buddy Scott around, who should have been canned before the pandemic for being a complete doofus when it comes to pitching management. The issue, all around, is that this is an unserious franchise. Owners don't care about winning, management is given a low bar with no pressure, and the fans are passive and okay with mediocre ball. Top to bottom it's pathetic

[@condlewis]

When you have a team that tries to win on the margins as much as the Ms do, you can't ever let the manager be the reason you're losing games and it happens way too often.

[@kennethblachlyjr3040]

You on target brother. Especially the fans. The owners know the majority of them are fine with mediocrity. So Seattle of them. I live in Seattle and I'll tell you that people here accept and are gullible to believe any lie Dipoto or the owners tell them as they pay 18 for a beer and 14 for a hot dog

[@bigkrutherford]

Low key?? 😂. As a lifelong Mariners fan, this organization's management has always been abysmal.

[@BallinRiceBowl]

It’s shameful.

[@ericradford2142]

@@bigkrutherford ya don’t say.

[@TheMasterMahans]

It's not even that low-key. Stanton needs to open up the wallet and pay the money for top shelf players! We have the most disgusting pitchers and we have no offense to help them. There's no time left, you can't waste this pitching staff!

[@michaelbaucom4019]

Just another el cheapo owner who only wants to be in contention for the last wild card, and has a GM(Di Poto) who is perfect for that: swing trades at the deadline for a crappy team's closer or second starter, or a crappy team's underperforming slugger. Trade other pieces in the off season. Claim you tried, rinse and repeat

[@jonathanfoutz8931]

I couldn’t have said it any better

[@StevenEveral]

John Stanton should have been gone a long time ago. He's a holdover from the Jack Z days and is keeping that defeatist mentality in his ownership of the M's. The M's made the '22 playoffs not because of Stanton, but in spite of him. Greed is in the front office is going to destroy the potential of this team.

[@ericradford2142]

@@StevenEveral not if the Mariners win the AL West and go deep into the playoffs.

[@no_regerts5176]

@@ericradford2142Here you are again. I want whatever you’re smoking. The Astros made up 10 games in the last month. Another epic collapse for the Mariners.

[@ericradford2142]

@@no_regerts5176 second half season starts today. Maybe the Mariners will return to winning form when they face the Astros this weekend.

[@girthbrookz4303]

@@ericradford2142 Not gonna happen, sell the team.

[@tonyfeldmann4471]

While i don't love a lot of Dipoto moves, he would literally get fired if he tried spending money. So i see it as him playing the hand he dealt

[@Loganmg27]

Yeah, implying that a major league GM simply doesn’t want to get better through free agency is super dishonest. It’s been well-documented that they have tried and wanted to do that; ownership keeps kicking the can down the road.

[@dad2612]

I agree he has proven success at building a bullpen and hitting on draft picks. FA signings for position players have been questionable but cheap ownership is clearly the problem. Still hard to justify they would pay millions for below to average guys like AJ Pollock or Mitch Garver when you could sign someone like Bellinger for a little more

[@coolbreeze4249]

Dipoto is complicit just as much as Stanton. Dipoto absolutely loves constructing these bs rosters he wouldn’t have it any other way if he cared one bit he would have walked

[@timmytwotone6826]

The franchise with more ruptured testicles than playoff appearances

[@HnyBadgerGaming]

I mean statistics are stats lol ;)

[@HnyBadgerGaming]

good comment, fellow internet man. We salute you.

[@izzykwoka2379]

*as many ruptured testicles as playoff appearances

[@BroadwayJoe99]

That's nuts.

[@kennethblachlyjr3040]

I was at that game as a kid

[@calvinwood7120]

Not ‘lowkey’ we’re getting fed up w Stanton siphoning from our team

[@Azeria]

The Mariners have never been far enough ahead for ownership to accept they have to spend money, which means they’re never far enough ahead which means they don’t spend money…

[@condlewis]

which means they've never been far enough ahead.... which means PAIN

[@Em022]

on the wall in the front office the first thing it says is that they're dedicated to winning championships which is ironic af. they also have the 20th worst batting average in MLB history of ALL TIME right now

[@Tony-so1zl]

WE DESERVE BETTER

[@BroadwayJoe99]

And before Jeff Smulyan, there was George Argyros, and before that there was the Silly Six (later the Funny Five) - a moniker that was only partly due to comedian Danny Kaye being an original stakeholder in the Mariners. Incompetent, money-grubbing owners and the Mariners go hand-in-hand, but the weirdness goes far deeper. Honestly, I'm quite convinced that the Mariners are MLB's "cursed" team, now that the Red Sox and Cubs have broken their curses. Go watch Secret Base's longform video on the team's history. That said, Skinflint Stanton should be run out of town on a rail. His crying poverty is both hilarious and maddening.

[@kennethblachlyjr3040]

Yeah they definitely cursed. They have "116 wins" put on the 2001 division championship banner. You win 116 games but still you don't even make the World Series. As long as they have that on the banner, they cursed

[@BroadwayJoe99]

@@kennethblachlyjr3040 In all fairness, there was just too much good will behind that Yankees team post-9/11 - at least until Arizona beat them in the World Series. And it was bittersweet for most M's fans seeing Randy Johnson win a ring that year with the Diamondbacks, and share the World Series MVP award with Curt Schilling.

[@kennethblachlyjr3040]

@BroadwayJoe99 yeah that's all lovely for Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. 9-11 didn't go down like we were told. I remember everyone was jerkying each other off in their love and affection for that disgusting deep state tool George Bush but it just underscores how trash the Mariners were then(half that 2001 team was in steroids) and how trash they are now

[@cheese423]

I love this team so damn much, I just really wish that we could spend money on winning baseball

[@greentea7180]

Watching the M's the last 25 years has been an exercise in pain and suffering. We get insanely talented players, and then depressingly never back them up and squander their talents. Sucks for the team, sucks for the players, sucks for the coaches, sucks for the fans... Who doesn't it suck for? Ownership. Go freakin' figure. My personal boycott has been to stop going to games, haven't been in 8 years and I regret nothing.

[@ericradford2142]

@@greentea7180 the Mariners are leading the AL West.

[@jarrettchristensen_music]

​@@ericradford2142By 2 games

[@matthewlarson738]

I'm a younger Mariners fan (22 playoffs was the first in my life) and after last season I've decided to boycott in the same way. I know it's not going to make much of an impact but I hope fans will get smart and attendance will plummet

[@ericradford2142]

@@matthewlarson738 stay positive about the Mariners. Staying positive makes you stronger

[@BroadwayJoe99]

@@ericradford2142 Your positivity is charming, but history shows that it's likely futile. Skinflint Stanton will find a way to kneecap the team yet again, and they'll inevitably stumble to the finish while Houston and Texas return to form. I'd love to be proven wrong, but history shows that I'll most likely be proven right.

[@BallinRiceBowl]

Low key?! 😂😂 Hell no! Get some friggin bats. Good lord. Last I checked we had a .217 BA as a team. That is horrific. Multiple players in the line up the last game I went to this year had a sub .200 average.

[@mikegibbons2889]

DH hitting .167. I saw this on scoreboard and I was ready to grab a bat.

[@boeraneth5263]

I’m all for shitting on the ownership group… but what’s happening in Oakland is on a whole other level.

[@boootybounce420]

Dipoto was sold to the fan with a long term vision. He was able to build a team that was 1 game out of postseason in 2021, then clinched in 2022 in the most epic fashion. That moment was the time for the record breaking profits to make a little slash in the transfer market. Instead we got yet another iteration of cutting expensive contracts and rely on a small talent gap between the cut player and his backup. 2023 saw the mariners finish out the “postseason” push with the most feeble inept attempt. 2024 has already seen the team squander a 10 game lead in the division only to whittle down to 2 games up in a 14 game stretch

[@MeargleSchmeargle]

Braves fan here, the Mariners are my 2nd favorite team. I hope I get to see the Mariners lift the Commissioner's Trophy sooner than later (just as long as it's not against my Braves)

[@cheese423]

Lowkey? More like everyone knows it! We need to spend money on real free agents and get more talent on this roster

[@grumpydave7329]

Minimal input for maximum profit. This is the world.

[@pep2st8p64]

"Low Key"?.....

[@rawnchydeard4669]

I don’t know. Dick Monfort is another example of how to make money by opening a ballpark and giving out of town fans a team to beat up on while they watch their teams.

[@diggitydog412]

best video of the state of the Mariners F.O. and ownership I have seen. I have been saying this stuff all season. This ownership needs to go. Get out. Great video here!!! Well done!

[@timc7720]

Mariners have made it almost impossible for fans to watch the games locally. They had about 3.3 million subscribers to Root Sports in 2014. This season there are 1.2 million, Dish network has completely removed Root from service.

[@109win]

Putting Jerry Dipoto with the ownership group is kinda wild and unfar. He works on a smaller budget because he doesnt have a choice. Yeah his comments last winter were horrible, but not talking about his follow up comments in later days seems purposeful to push your narrative and bad reporting imo. Jerry is not perfect but he is a good gm who wants to win, all gms want to win. The owners are awful though. No doubt about that

[@paulhan7770]

The title is awfully nice.

[@AHomelessShoe]

God MLB needs a rival league. That or the league just needs to implode.

[@Dman425]

MLB has been a mess for 3 decades

[@AHomelessShoe]

@@Dman425 which makes my point even more true

[@Dman425]

@@AHomelessShoe it won’t happen. It needs to happen. But, it won’t

[@jamesmead8460]

Totally agree. 162 games is Totally stupid. Plus the whole no salary cap and the minor league system stealing stars from the college game and ruining 99% of them

[@hjermsted22]

MLB needs relegation for the teams who have won the WS the least. :D

[@sanandaallsgood673]

I was a Mariners fan for 25 years until I reached my limit of them being a major league farm club! Interesting enough, I switched to the Tampa Rays for my AL team. I've always been a person who revolted against teams like the Yankees (and currently the Dodgers) who 'buy' their successes. One good example is the Tampa Rays who has one of the lowest payrolls in baseball yet have shown up in playoffs for the last 8 years, proving that buying a championship isn't necessary.

[@Harrja]

Jerry Reinsdorf has also entered the chat for worst owner

[@shiznittleofasura8667]

Yeah folks who think John Stanton and the ownership are not for-profit are delusional. The fact that the Mariners were top in the league in revenue yet were salary dumping says it all. Stop being blind. Giving up on Kelenic and salary dumping away Robbie Ray although our staff is legit without him really boiled my blood in the preseason. Then the fact that we didnt even participate in the shohei sweepstakes although of course we were not going to outbid the Dodgers, i at least wanted to see that we were in it and want to improve our team. I’ll say it again, F*** John Stanton and the ownership group!!!

[@snuffyballparks6501]

I strongly oppose tax dollars being used to subsidize billionaire sports owners. Congress needs to step in with laws to protect taxpayers. Local politicians are often in on the grift.

[@ericradford2142]

I couldn’t agree with you more.

[@MeMe-u2d3t]

You mean like the war grift in Congress? Ok

[@snuffyballparks6501]

@@MeMe-u2d3t No... that is not at all what I mean. Straw man much?

[@magnusrylander]

Drain the swamp!

[@MeMe-u2d3t]

@@snuffyballparks6501 straw man gatekeeper gaslighter pearl clutcher but never a bomb grifter democrat

[@larryblotter]

I hate this organization

[@mikegibbons2889]

As I went to a game this season and a fan next me thru conversation told me how cheap billionaire Stanton is. At the same time I was buying an $18 beer. These people dont deserve to own a Sports Team. Winning should be everything. His statement is a lie.

[@cdViking]

Don't disagree with any of your sentiment (especially around Stanton's profit-seeking BS) and will acknowledge that Jerry is 100% an ownership tool, but I still direct my disdain entirely towards Stanton and the ownership group. The front office is definitely guilty of being detached at times but they live and breathe the purse string limitations imposed on them; there are some visible flaws in their recent player evaluation for which they should be held to account, but we would be stuck in late 00's-early 2010's hell without Jerry's clockwork approach to building platoons/leveraging tools or the organization's development track record (restocking the farm system within just a couple years after emptying it via promotion/trade).

[@chrisguardiano6143]

When it comes to Root Sports, the Mariners have run the network so badly since they have taken over full ownership that the primary source of content during the winter months in the Kraken decided to leave the network at end of this past NHL season in favor of doing an over the air deal with TEGNA (which owns the NBC affiliate in Seattle) & a streaming deal with Prime Video so that more fans can watch their games with the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA (the other major team besides the Mariners on Root Sports) likely to follow suit. The Mariners aren't the only Seattle team to have terrible owners as the Sounders of MLS have been poorly run ever since 2019 (when they won the MLS Cup). With the Sounders, ownership does not care about improving the team & like the Mariners, they refuse to spend money on rebuilding the squad. As a result the Sounders have gone from being one of the elite teams in MLS to a team where simply making the playoffs is seen as good enough. What makes this situation potentially worse is that the Sounders ownership might be bringing this same approach to the Reign of the NWSL now they have brought a majority ownership stake in the club from the OL Group (which owns Lyon in France among other clubs).

[@LordTeaboBaggins]

EDIT: As @johneddy908 pointed out, Root Sports Rocky Mountain is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. My comment was wrong. But I’ll keep it standing as a monument to my dumbassery Believe it or not- Root Sports also has the Utah Jazz. The network extends into northern Utah

[@johneddy908]

@@LordTeaboBaggins, actually the Jazz games are on Root Sports Rocky Mountain, now a separate network still owned by Warner Bros. Discovery to the best of my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong).

[@LordTeaboBaggins]

@@johneddy908 Upon research, you’re absolutely right. I apologize for the misinformation and will edit my above comment to reflect this. Thanks bud 🙂

[@BroadwayJoe99]

FUN FACT: "To root" is slang for having sex in Australia and New Zealand. I posted that on RSNW's Facebook page after they rebranded from FOX Sports Northwest, and I got put in FB jail for it.

[@conradhauser17]

When ownership hired DiPoto as GM, he promised them that in 10 years the Mariners would win 88 games...they did and still didn't make the playoffs...Moneyball failed in Oakland and so far in Seattle...

[@davidalexander8996]

Other than the Lone Star State, the AL West is the most cursed division in baseball on the ownership front. Angels owner Arte Moreno has gambled on high priced signings that have backfired (though Mike Trout has been sadly plagued by repeated injuries) all while refusing to invest in the farm system, improve the stadium, and promote goodwill among the fanbase. Fingers crossed for the Guardians chances to one up the "Major League" film franchise, which ironically never featured the team winning the World Series!

[@BearIslandComics]

Feels a bit harsh on DiPoto. The man has limited resources, he’s doing his job within those constraints. And yes, part of it is PR. Every GM does that

[@Giantmonkey-c4q]

I don't know if it is because you are biased towards Seattle, but come on the Athletics ownership with John Fisher is 10 times worse. This comes nowhere near that.

[@jamesmarkey5946]

I believe the franchise is cursed look into Native American burial grounds😅

[@mikepounds8055]

My boss once told me that you have to spend money to make money. I don’t think the Mariners front office understands that concept.

[@Plop3r]

I'd argue that the mariners are worse, they are literaly trying to make themselves worse by trading or letting they're all-star players and good player's walk in free agency, and not get better players, in fact go for worse players.

[@BronchoKyle]

Seattle worst ownership? *The Pittsburgh Pirates have entered the chat”

[@chiefdareef]

John Cheapton needs to go

[@pp3k3jamail]

I'm not a Mariners fan but he's trying to take all that money to the grave with him

[@gmched52]

54%ers

[@ngarcia103]

As a Blue Jays fan, how are they in worse shape than we are...?

[@mrsticky005]

I may be alone on this but what I want to see in baseball is Teams owned 100 percent by the fans/the city but run by former players and coaches who are voted in (or out) as representatives with term limits. Actually I dare say a similar model should be used for business in general.

[@SippyCupAdventures]

Wait! I gotta watch this later, but news has come out that the Modesto Nuts Single A franchise will no longer exist after this year. It goes back to your MiLB videos I gotta rewatch, but, guess who the Nuts affiliate is? The Mariners!

[@donothing7930]

Not low key. High key.

[@sbeers88]

Watching the Ms try to hit is a painful experience. They will set the MLB record for Ks in a season. By a mile.

[@HnyBadgerGaming]

Good video, the algorithm found you, I enjoyed the background information, I didnt know Nintendo owned some of the Mariners, but I didnt look into it. Great video though man.

[@HnyBadgerGaming]

commas hurt me haha.

[@jameslong1360]

Hoping you were gonna mention the Mariners mismanagement of the Modesto Nuts. Ending 80 years of minor league baseball in Modesto because they want the city to fork over $30 million in stadium upgrades…

[@thetouchback]

Separate video on the Nuts coming tomorrow.

[@jameslong1360]

@@thetouchback sweet!

[@S_Over_Street]

@@jameslong1360 also could be a possibility that the Mariners High-A affiliate in Everett, WA is facing. Either renovate their current ballpark (Funko Field) or build a new ballpark several blocks away. If the city of Everett (or county) cannot come up with the funds, they’re unfortunately leaving for a city that would pony up public tax money.

[@PNW_STEFF]

Go hawks

[@k7j6]

I’d love to see the Seattle Mariners not just get sold! But also relocate elsewhere. While I’m living in the Northwest myself! They Black Out my teams from their network on MLB Extra Innings when they have to play them. That is a disgrace. So yeah! Sell the Seattle Mariners & relocate them somewhere that is NOT the Northwest. Unless you relocate them to Victoria or Vancouver BC. Aside that! Relocate the NHL’s Seattle Kraken elsewhere aside that too. Maybe relocate the Seattle Kraken to Saskatchewan! That way there can then be 8 Canadian Based NHL Clubs instead of 7! I only wish the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes could’ve stayed a franchise! I was sad to see them go! If this was the Seattle Kraken going bankrupt & relocating elsewhere! That would be different! That would’ve been a blessing. That way they wouldn’t get in my way of watching my teams from their networks when they had to play them. And by doing that! They are making me let down my main team’s local network! Especially if you talk Colorado where I should be living!

[@grewk2518]

nicely done.

[@Em022]

also the mariners do provide a lot of jobs to be fair about their "serve the community" stance

[@BroadwayJoe99]

So does McDonald's. And they put out a far more consistent product than the Mariners.

[@BenHoltenFilms]

I heard OK city is looking for a team

[@BroadwayJoe99]

I wouldn't actually be upset with that. If they moved - which is actually highly unlikely - T-Mobile Park could be converted into a giant homeless shelter. No, seriously - they could do it. They have over twenty years of experience in hosting bums, after all.

[@TheCpadron19]

Stanton is a cheapskate, that's why he's never going to win a World Series as the owner. I played baseball with his kid; Stanton didn't give him anything. He made Tim make it on his own basically, so I'm not surprised he treats his ball club the same way.

[@reesebeast1949]

Hey we are 52-43 we just need to beat Houston then we got the angels and white sox after. After that it’s time to contend by getting a star.

[@boootybounce420]

Hey it’s the Kool Aid man

[@ImTheDudeMan471]

As a Padres fan, I feel your pain. Other than the last few years, it seems like you are telling the Padre story. Is it any coincidence they share a Spring Training facility?

[@pp3k3jamail]

💥💥I'm not a Seattle Mariners fan but I never understood old guys like this Seattle Mariners owner who is cheap to spend money, dude you're probably about to die in like 5 years he looks like he's in the 70s like you can't take that money to the grave with you. So you might as well spend it on your team that you own. I used to say the same thing about Mike Brown the long time owner of the Bengals and how cheap he was. I'm not a Bangles fan but dude like 70 something years old. Why are you cheap to spend money on your team for? you can't take that money to the grave with you what's wrong with these people

[@jamesnash6101]

Ok.... let's look at a few acquisitions that the Mariners have made. Jesse Winker, if we would have gotten the All Star Jesse Winker. Then that pisition would have been solid. The second base has been another issue. But it seems with Polanco and Bliss. That position is solid. Our pitching staff is one of the best in MLB. In Right field, there is Mitch Haniger, I just think he's at the end of his career. But there's still enough gas left in the tank. And the other pisitions on the team is solid. Alao, they have completely rebuilt their farm system. People need to remember that this ownership has only been in place for 8 years. And out of that time frame. The Mariners have strongly competed. Even though in 2023, we lost Ray and Gonzalez to injuries. That's 40% of your starting rotation. That alone would have been difficult for any team to overcome. Even with all of that, the Mariners lead the division. And if you are a numbers person. The last two World Series champions came out of the AL-West. What that indicates is..... the AL-West is the toughest division in baseball. This is, if you go strictly by the numbers. Therefore, for what this new ownership has accomplished. That's pretty good.

[@MrAvatarzan]

The hard truth is though during this tenure, NONE of the trades and moves have really worked out for the Mariners...while also not doing enough to actually improve the team. You've got a team that is LEADING the MLB in strikeouts and has one of the worst batting averages consistently over these past years. At least with a team like the Braves, they're a power team so of course they're going to strikeout a lot and struggle if pitched well against, but time has proven that even with this elite pitching staff, they still can't win games because they have no reliable bats to speak of and refuse to invest in this area AFTER multiple years of this being the core issue. The point is, enough is enough and it's time for this ownership to sell the team.

[@kennethblachlyjr3040]

The owners are absolutely horrible and I'm a Mariners fan

[@K9swiper]

If Jerry D had a green light to buy players we wouldve won the world series 3x already .. to get this far with him is a blessing

[@azoldguy9025]

Democrats mentality at its finest right there! I’ve been a fan of all of Seattle’s Seattle sports teams since my family moved to Seattle in 1972! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the Mariners could or would go this long without getting to the World Series! But the reality of it the Seahawks had the best ownership under Mr. Allen no other Seattle sports franchise has had that quality of owner! Until maybe now with the Kraken Ownership. But until the Mariner ownership changes their expectations and look into the mirror, I’m afraid we will always have teams “Oh so Close but not quite! I no longer live in the Northwest but my sports viewing always start there. Thanks for the Video.

[@aegisofhonor]

remember when Nintendo owned the Mariners?

[@girthbrookz4303]

SELL THE DAMN TEAM!

[@PNW_STEFF]

Rich people being greedy

[@Lyrici17]

As an irrational Dustin Ackley fanboy (seriously, do you see those eyes?), I'm not sure why he had to catch a stray, lol.... Otherwise, I am 100% in agreement with everything you're saying in this video. It's frustrating knowing that the goal is to make a profit (but if it doesn't, that's NOT fine) and hopefully the team performs really well also (but if doesn't, that's fine).... Good video, thanks!

[@thetouchback]

I went to college on the Palouse as Ackley was breaking in. I had a buddy who spent the entire 2011/2012 winter talking him up. He was so excited that he decided to drive to the home opener in 2012 on a whim because he wanted to see Ackley "make history." His words, not mine. Anyway, he didn't spend the night on the westside or anything. Got out of class, drove five hours, watched the game, drove five hours back to Pullman. The Mariners were shut out by Bartolo Colon and the A's. I think the experience crushed his soul. I don't remember him saying another word about Ackley for the rest of the semester.

[@mark_zuckerburg]

Nailed it

[@mohammedkhaleel7542]

Baseball needs a salary cap and salary floor to force these owners to spend on their teams

[@Dman425]

They are 3 decades too late for that

[@SuperGalaxy]

Players union will never say yes to a cap

[@mohammedkhaleel7542]

Baseball isn’t what it used to be; it’s no longer number 1. They can’t be arrogant like they used to be. Football, college football, basketball and soccer (foreign NOT MLS) all have overtaken the attention of sports fans. Some teams should be contracted/combined at this point

[@SuperGalaxy]

@@mohammedkhaleel7542 well the numbers this year kind of goes against the statement considering attendance is at a decade high and viewership is also at a decade high

[@mohammedkhaleel7542]

@@SuperGalaxyI don’t know about all that. It doesn’t really matter; the number of viewers today don’t compare to the number of viewers they had back in the 1980s when baseball was king.

[@tuckersundwall6815]

A lot of mariners fans shit on Dipoto name one GM who could get the results he gets with the limitations he has

[@boootybounce420]

1 wild card birth = the results? That moment was cool and all only because it broke a 20 year playoff drought. We failed to miss the playoff with the same team the year after while the ownership profited more than any other franchise. If dipoto was serious about winning he woulddnt be offloading Suarez & Kelenic weeks into the offseason. Tease the idea of going after ohtani, sign no one. Watching the epic collage in June is a storyline we’ve seen before when the team misses the playoffs by a game and the the team explains the failure with a bunch of what “if” moments. the 54% line that was made public record, explains the roster perfectly. We want the most everrage group of players to give us a slight chance @ above .500 ball and the “unpredictable” nature of baseball will push up over the top because science

[@T_K7]

You just want one? Chris Antonetti. He's been in charge of Cleveland since 2010, where he's had a lower payroll than the M's (often around $30M lower) in every year except 2013. In the past 14 seasons, he's achieved 6 playoff appearances, including 4 division leads and one WS appearance. Currently his team is the winningest in the AL, so barring a historic collapse it'll be 7/15 at season's end. Oh, and his winning percentage (.529) is better than Jerry's as well (.517).

[@blacklabsmatter3632]

I put up with Mariners BS for 20 years. This winter I said no more and switched my allegiance to the dodgers and it feels so good. no more blind loyalty. Call me a bandwagon, at least this wagon is worth the fare

[@isitrealgood]

Great. Some other know-it-all "Superfan" with a microphone and a CAMERA.

[@LawLinternets]

I really don't think Dipoto is to blame. He can only spend as much money as he's allowed to spend. He's done a fantastic job developing pitchers, and the Mariners now basically have the best pitching rotation in the league. He tries to get good bats for a bargain, and on paper they should be ok, but they somehow fall off a cliff (Frazier, Wong, Polanco, Winker, LaStella, etc). It's on ownership, not management, and Dipoto isn't going to say ownership has him handcuffed, when we all know that's truly the case.

[@boootybounce420]

Well for starters he’s a total failure at winning championships team has regressed since 2022. All these dipoto trades are a result of dipoto throwing shit a wall and hoping it sticks.

[@leam89]

There's a lot worse ownerships out there. What's crazy right now is that if they were able to figure out their hitting they could easily be a championship contender because of all of their controllable young pitching