If there’s been a staple of Seattle Mariners baseball over the past few years, it’s been manager Scott Servais.
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Servais is in his ninth season leading Seattle’s clubhouse. Only the respected Lou Piniella (10 years) spent more time as the team’s manager. In fact, no one else can match the tenures of Mr. Servais and Mr. Piniella. The next closest would be the four years the franchise’s first coach, Darrell Johnson, spent in Seattle.
The stability Servais has brought to the Mariners is rare for a franchise that has had 20 managers in less than 50 years, but for one reason or another, many fans want him gone. More often than not, it’s due to a lack of offensive prowess, lineup construction, or late-game decisions by the bullpen.
Is Servais a good manager? Seattle Sports co-host bob stelton Dave Wyman asked longtime ESPN MLB analyst Tim Kurkjian that question when he joined the team. Wyman and Bob on Thursday.
“Almost the entire fan base of a team that doesn’t live up to expectations will blame the coach,” Kurkjian said. “It happens all the time. It’s just part of the game. Normally I’d be mad because I don’t think it’s fair, but it’s not Scott Servais’ fault that this team is 23rd in scoring. No. You can inspire people as much as you want, but if you encounter great pitching and something goes wrong, it’s not the manager’s fault.”
Servais is the second manager in the club’s history with 640 wins, just 200 points behind the legendary Piniella, having led the team to wins in five of the eight seasons entering 2024. He is also the only manager to lead a team to the postseason. All but Mr. Piniella did so in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001.
In 2021, Servais led a group that many expected to be on the back burner into the final weekend of the season, still with a playoff berth. The Mariners went 90-72 that season despite finishing with a minus-51 goal differential. This was the club’s first 90-win season since 2003. The following season, he and the Mariners broke the franchise’s 21-year playoff drought.
“He’s definitely one of the better managers,” Kurkjian said. “He knows what he’s doing. He was a good player in his playing days and he’s good with people.”
Listen to the full conversation with ESPN MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian at this link or in the audio player near the top of this article. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-6pm or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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