Mariners president Jerry Dipoto apologizes for sustainability comments: 'I'm generally embarrassed'
Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto apologized Thursday after making comments earlier in the week that enraged the fan base — a fan base already unhappy the Mariners missed the playoffs by a single game.
“First, I’d like to say I’m generally embarrassed by the way, at least, that comment and especially one other was received,” Dipoto said via the Seattle Times. “I’ve been doing this job, or roles like this, for a long time now, and I’ve made mistakes. I’ve made my fair share, like most do. This was kind of one of those times. I just did a poor job of illustrating the points that I was trying to make.”
Dipoto made the two comments Tuesday while speaking to the media about the 2023 season and the future of the team. The Mariners ended with an 88-74 record and finished one game behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the final AL wild-card spot, which frustrated fans who expected the team to return to the playoffs after ending their 21-year postseason drought in 2022.
Fans also want to see the Mariners get to the World Series, as they're the only team in MLB that has never appeared in one. Which is why Dipoto's comments Tuesday whipped long-suffering Seattle fans into an angry frenzy.
“Our job is to think more broadly,” Dipoto said Tuesday. "We’re looking at a six- to 10-year window. When I talk about sustainability, I can’t tell you that you’re going to win the World Series. I can tell you that if we win 54% of our games over the course of a decade, you’re going to play in a World Series. Teams that do those things get in the World Series now, and that is true in the wild-card era. It is true in the divisional format dating back to 1969. You’ve got, I think, an 85 or 90% chance of reaching a World Series if you make that your goal, if we make winning the World Series your goal, we will do insane things that will cut the sustainability part of the project short. That’s not how we think.”
Then, shortly after, Dipoto said this:
“But the reality is if what you’re doing is focusing year to year on what we have to do to win the World Series this year, you might be one of the teams that’s laying in the mud and can’t get up for another decade. So we’re actually doing the fan base a favor [awkward chuckle] in asking for their patience to win the World Series while we continue to build a sustainably good roster.”
Very few fans want to hear that their favorite sports team isn't trying to win a championship every year. Even fewer want to hear that the team is doing them a favor by not trying to win. Saying both of those things to Mariners fans is a recipe to get yourself shoved off the closest pier by an angry mob decked out in navy blue and teal.
Which is why Dipoto went on the radio Thursday to apologize to fans and clarify what he was trying to say.
"[I] completely whiffed in my attempt to paint a picture baseline of what makes sense to me than our fans and media. Our goal isn’t to be mediocre. Our goal is to win championships and then to play a high level for a long time. That’s what I was trying to convey. Obviously, it didn’t help. I wish I could hit reset and try it again. But that moment’s gone.
“Believe me when I tell you I don’t take it lightly. I’m a lifelong baseball fan. I get it. And we’re doing the best that we can to deliver it as quickly as we can. But we’re just not going to take shortcuts. And that’s been our goal throughout, and we will continue to try to address all of our needs in a way that we think gives us a chance to win World Series over and over, and that’s the goal. And I hope the fans hear that.”
Unfortunately for Dipoto, what the fans heard first was him saying that the Mariners aren't trying to win the World Series every year. Once you say that, it might take more than a radio apology to win back their trust.
