Salk: Making sense of the Mariners’ Scott Servais era ending

Every sports fan knows change is inevitable. We know most coaches and managers won’t get to leave on their own terms. It is a bottom-line business, end of story.

No one was surprised when we found out that Scott Servais had been let go by the Seattle Mariners. The team was struggling and it’s hard for any middle manager to survive a 1-8 stretch, especially when the team is supposed to be in contention. It became even more clear when team president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that it was something they had to consider.

I understand the move. With 34 games left and a five game deficit, you need to try whatever you can to motivate the players. If there is any chance this season can be salvaged, it is incumbent on everyone in charge to facilitate the best opportunity to do so. Personally, I don’t think this will help, but if those in charge believe it will, it needs to be done. I sincerely hope it works.

But this was a sad day for the Mariners.

Servais has been the manager for nine seasons, but really that tenure can be broken into three stages.

In the early years, he was trying to establish a new culture. It was necessary after Lloyd McClendon’s somewhat ignominious reign came to an end. Jerry and Scott arrived together with the goal of creating a culture where none had really existed for years.

During that time, Scott redesigned the team’s spring training headquarters at the Peoria Sports Complex, adding graphics and plaques to honor those who had made this organization great. My two favorite additions were the sign in the clubhouse that states the mileage to Seattle and the wall of names of players who were developed by the Mariners who reached the big leagues with the club. Everything was about building something new and special.

There were bumps along the way. Certainly, it wasn’t easy to convince veteran players that change was necessary, and it took some time for them to buy into the morning meetings designed to help the team get to know each other. But eventually, progress was made and the team nearly made the playoffs.

In the second era, Scott was charged with maintaining and growing that winning culture while knowing that the product on the field would not necessarily win many games. Rebuilds are tough and often they are led by a sacrificial lamb who gets the unenviable task of steering the big league ship while the organization focuses on the minor league talent. But with Scott’s background in player development, he was instrumental in that process. He built a positive culture that was ready and waiting when the next generation arrived.

We all know what happened next. In 2021, they were ahead of schedule and they came close. The next year, they brought up Julio Rodríguez, traded for Luis Castillo, and won their first playoff series in decades. Scott was in the center of it all, deftly managing a bullpen filled with no-name studs who benefited from his modern and creative approach in addition to his constant communication.

When they faltered the next season and players were vocal about their frustration with organizational decisions, it was Scott who successfully went door to door in the offseason to bring everyone back in the fold.

Former UW Huskies football coach Chris Petersen said this week that coaching would be so much easier if the players would just do exactly what you told them to do. Obviously, the world doesn’t work that way, but it’s especially true in baseball.

Managers don’t scheme the way coaches do. They aren’t drawing on white boards or designing plays that the opponent can’t stop. For the most part, they are charged with creating a culture in the clubhouse, making sure their teams work and play hard, covering for and taking public bullets for those players, messaging the organizational philosophy, and applying that philosophy on the field.

They don’t choose the players. They don’t hit. They don’t pitch. They don’t coach.

They manage players, personalities and information.

In nine seasons, Scott kept a strong culture. His teams did not quit and they rarely fought with or disparaged each other. He covered for players on any number of occasions, especially when the offense was floundering. The in-game decisions he made were in line with the organization’s thinking and they led him to a 233-167 record in one-run games coming into this season. Those are spectacular numbers, especially considering the team was non-competitive for a few of those seasons. There is a reason he was a finalist three times for American League Manager of the Year.

Sometimes change is necessary, even if it’s just for the sake of change. And this may have been one of those times. But it doesn’t make it any less brutal.

I don’t believe Scott Servais let anyone down. I believe he was let down. And that is ultimately why he was let go.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Drayer: Looking at Scott Servais’ legacy, why Mariners let him go
• Scott Servais releases statement through Mariners after dismissal
• The File: A closer look at new Mariners manager Dan Wilson
• What change at manager could mean for rest of Mariners’ season
• MLB analyst weighs in on Seattle Mariners’ offensive problems

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