The Seattle Mariners ended their chance for back to back playoff appearances when losing 6-1 to the Texas Rangers on Oct. 1. Not making it to the postseason had an upcoming of comments and thoughts from the players and fans.
The Mariners fans had high hopes for postseason play as the game approached on Saturday Oct. 1, they packed the stands only to watch the Mariners chances of making it slip away. An article from King 5 News states some of the feedback given by fans.
“It’s disappointing,” Mariners fan Alex Steven said. “We’ve had a glimmer of hope, we had this big winning streak and I thought they were going to make the playoffs at least, if not make the division. In the last couple of weeks, we let it all slip away.”
Mariners fans are disappointed with the way this season concluded, but they are optimistic about the upcoming one.
“Fans say they aren’t giving up on the Mariners just yet, and are looking ahead to better odds next season,” a King 5 article stated.
While the thoughts and comments of the fans hold significance, the players’ perspective is equally crucial. According to AP News, third-year catcher Cal Raleigh garnered attention for his perspective on the aftermath of Saturday’s defeat.
“We’ve got to commit to going and getting those players you see other teams going for,” Raleigh said. “Getting big time pitchers, getting big time hitters. We have to do that to keep up.”
More conflict could arise if teammates of Raleigh chose to interpret his comments the wrong way. Although it was revealed that J.P Crawford, Raleigh’s teammate, shared similar sentiments, as reported by AP News.
“I think Cal had some great comments yesterday,” Crawford said. “I know there’s a big controversy about that earlier this morning, and, you know, I’m with him on that. I think we need to go out there and really make a move to help this team win, and however it means doing that, I mean, they just got to do it. We just gotta get better.”
This can attest to some of the allegations made against Raleigh. On Sunday morning Raleigh apologized to his coaches and teammates about the comments of commitment and winning made after the game, as reported in an AP News article.
He expressed his frustration and anger, but he also wanted to make sure that his team didn’t misinterpret his message, as mentioned in the same AP News article.
“Obviously yesterday was a really emotional day for everybody. I just want to apologize to my teammates, my coaches, fans. It wasn’t a time to talk about what-ifs in that scenario,” Raleigh said. “That being said, I’m not going to apologize for wanting to win and wanting to bring a World Series to the city. They deserve it, the fans do and our organization does and I’m committed to doing that.”
As Raleigh acknowledged earlier, his comments could’ve waited until emotions had died down. However, Sports Broadcast Coordinator at 88.1 The ‘Burg, Ryan Gildersleeve shared that he agreed with Raleigh.
“We’ve been saying the same thing for so many years, and the team has only recently begun to shift in the direction where they look like they’re actively trying to bring in new players,” Gildersleeve said.
Although the Mariners fell short, fans are eager to see what the team could look like in the 2024 season. Jerry Dipoto, the president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners, talks about the team’s hopes for next season as reported by an article on MLB.com.
“We’ll do the best that we can in trying to achieve the best outcomes, and if that means it’s big-name players in either way, via free agency or trade, we’ll do that,” Dipoto said. “If it means we get better in other incremental ways, we’ll try to do that too.”
Dipoto also mentions briefly in a different MLB article that they could be looking into new prospects for the team and the new season.
“We think there’s a wave coming that should arrive sometime mid-to-late season next year,” Dipoto said. “Our farm system, and this is naturally what happens when your best players are teenagers — and most of our best players are teenagers right now. When that is the case, you tend to move a little more slowly through prospect ranking systems.”
Building on Dipoto’s vision, Gildersleeve also highlighted the significance of other athletes on the team.
“… If I am Jerry Dipoto, I’m looking at the trade value of Luis Castillo, as well as if there is any remaining value in Robbie Ray. I’m [also] looking to make a trade that would bring in an impact bat as well as either a prospect haul or another controllable starting pitcher,” Gildersleeve said.
Sources-
4 takes on Seattle Mariners player comments after missing playoffs
Mariners fans disappointed after losing chance at a back-to-back playoff run | king5.com
Mariners Cal Raleigh apologizes for comments after Seattle eliminated from postseason race | AP News
Drayer on Mariners’ offseason, strikeouts, recent comments, more – Seattle Sports
Dipoto discusses ’23 season’s finish, road ahead for Mariners
Dipoto discusses ’23 season’s finish, road ahead for Mariners
