Marco Gonzales: Mariners’ culture catching notice of MLB players
Feb 25, 2023, 10:17 AM
Marco Gonzales hugs Robbie Ray #38 during a Mariners game against the Angels on Aug. 5, 2022. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
With back-to-back 90-win seasons, a dramatic playoff series win under the belts and a roster full of up and coming players, the Mariners have established themselves as a team watch in MLB.
And that goes for players around the league.
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Veteran Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales said that’s the feeling he’s been getting lately, and the clubhouse culture Seattle has is playing as big a part in it as anything.
“The vibes are positive. Just (a) really, really charismatic team,” Gonzales said about the Mariners’ clubhouse on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy when he joined the show Wednesday. “We have such a good culture here. We’re just building on it. I think the past two, three years we’ve built a really good foundation here and we’re just adding to it, adding guys like Kolten Wong, AJ Pollock, guys like that that have been around and done it and want to buy into something special here.”
As Gonzales continued, he said that as some players have joined the Mariners, they’ve expressed how they have taken notice of the direction of the team.
“That’s the best thing to hear is these free agents that come here and they say, ‘We’ve been wanting to join this team. We’ve seen what you guys have been doing, we want to be a part of it, this is where we see ourselves fitting.’ And to me that’s the biggest compliment, that other teams are watching us saying, ‘I want to be a part of that. I see how you guys’ culture is and that looks like fun.'”
That being said, the Mariners are far from satisfied with the leap they’ve made in recent seasons.
“We’re hungry at the same time. Last year just wasn’t enough,” Gonzales said. “It seems like it left a bitter taste in all of our mouths and we’re out for blood this year, out for redemption.”
You can listen to the full conversation with Gonzales, which includes insight on a new pitch he’ll be using in 2023 and thoughts on some younger pitchers in the Mariners’ system, in the podcast player below.
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