Are the Mariners really turning back the clock on offense?

When the Seattle Mariners tabbed Dan Wilson as their new manager last August and brought in Edgar Martinez as interim hitting coach, there was a turn-back-the-clock feel.

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Wilson and Martinez, of course, are two of the bigger names from the franchise’s glory years of the 1990s and early 2000s.

On top of that, Seattle took on a bit of an old-school style after Wilson took over on Aug. 22. Over the final 34 games of the season, the Mariners used a more whole-field approach at the plate, were more aggressive on the base paths and even mixed in the occasional sacrifice bunt.

With Wilson now entering his first full season as manager and Martinez moving into a new role as the team’s senior director of hitting strategy, there’s been a perception that the Mariners will be less analytically driven in terms of on-field strategy in 2025.

But during an appearance Monday morning on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk at the team’s spring training facility in Arizona, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander pushed back on that notion.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any change from the way we’ve handled strategy from an analytical, data perspective over the years,” Hollander said. “I would sort of disagree with the premise that things changed down the stretch. There’s no data science or analytical measure that doesn’t think that stealing bases at a high rate of success is the right thing to do. If we talk about bunting, tell me what the score is, tell me where we’re playing, tell me who’s batting, tell me who’s pitching, tell me what inning it is – then I’ll tell you whether it’s a good idea or not.

“I thought we executed at a really high level from a data strategy perspective over the last six weeks of the (2024) season, if you sort of want to draw an arbitrary line to pre-Dan and post-Dan. And I would expect us to continue to execute at a high level.”

Co-host Brock Huard followed up by asking, “So, Dan is not going to play this like 1980s or 90s baseball?”

“I don’t think so, no,” Hollander said. “I mean, we platooned players over the last (34) games of the season, just like we had before. We pinch-hit, if anything, a little more than we had before. We were more aggressive on the bases, but in some ways I think our talent dictated that with (the midseason additions of) Victor (Robles) and Randy (Arozarena).”

There was indeed an uptick in stolen base attempts after Robles signed with Seattle in early June, followed by another uptick after the Aug. 22 managerial change.

Prior to Robles’ debut with the club on June 5, the Mariners averaged just 0.68 steal attempts per game. Between June 5 and Aug. 21, they averaged 1.03 steal attempts per game. And from Aug. 23 on, they averaged 1.24 steal attempts per game.

“Different players have different skill sets, but I don’t anticipate us like turning back the clock and doing anything differently,” Hollander said. “I think the whole staff is sort of wired to approach things from an evidence-based way.”

Where the change is

So, what will be the biggest difference this season under Wilson and Martinez?

“I do think the messaging will be different,” Hollander said. “I think Edgar’s gift is in the message. His ability to make it simple for hitters – to talk about big ideas, but distill them into ways that really connect and resonate with players because he’s presenting them in a way that’s simple and not complicated – I think that strikes the perfect balance for what we’re trying to do.

“We’re trying to take all of this data and info and these big ideas, and we’re gonna put them in the funnel and have an awesome messenger at the bottom of the funnel to tell the player: ‘This is what I’m hoping you can accomplish. This is what I believe you can do.’ And I think Edgar’s gift as a hitting coach is just that. He connects with players. He can make the complicated simple.”

Listen to the full conversation with Mariners general manager Justin Hollander at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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