Mariners CEO Kevin Mather, under fire for comment, released a statement

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Kevin Mather has served as Seattle Mariners team president since 2014. (AP)

The Mariners became a major focus of the baseball world on Sunday when a speech by team chairman and CEO Kevin Mather at the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club came to light on February 5.

Zoom images of the event were posted on YouTube by the BBRC and shared on Twitter on Saturday evening. The video was removed Sunday afternoon, but not before copies and transcripts were shared online, including by Lookout Landing.

In the 45-minute video, Mather gave an opening statement of about 20 minutes and then answered questions from the Zoom audience for the remainder of the recording, which ended abruptly. Over the course of the program, Mather covered a number of topics in a way that elicited reactions from fans, players, agents and members of the national media.

On Sunday evening, the Mariners released the following statement from Mather:

I want to apologize to every member of the Seattle Mariners organization, especially our players and our fans. There is no excuse for my behavior, and I take full responsibility for my terrible judgment error.

My comments were my own. They do not reflect the views and strategy of Mariners baseball leaders who are responsible for decisions about the development and status of the players at all levels of the organization.

I spent most of the day on the phone today and apologized to the many people I have offended, hurt, or disappointed at a recent online event.

I am determined to make amends for the things I have said that were personally hurtful, and I will do whatever it takes to repair the damage I have done to the Seattle Mariners organization.

During the visit to the BBRC, Mather’s opening statement included an overview of how the pandemic-shortened 2020 season impacted baseball financially, stating that the Mariners fared better than most, but it was still “a low year” for the club.

“We were at the very bottom of our rebuild cycle, so our payroll was as low as it was going to be,” Mather said. “We also have a TV deal with ROOT Sports, and we’re doing our best on the TV deal. We had 60 games and per game we got a lot more than we probably deserved compared to other similarly sized markets. A terrible year financially, but we did better than most. “

Mather went on with the Mariners’ plan to bring as many young players as possible to their alternate location in Tacoma last season. A total of 15 prospects were invited to participate. Since there was no minor league season, this and a small pitching camp they held in North Carolina were the only ways to get potential clients to work. What they wouldn’t get, however, was the chance to join the big league club, as Mather revealed in the speech.

“As devastating as 2020 was for player development and improvement, we took a risk and brought in our high-end prospects, really got to know them. They received first-class instruction in Tacoma, ”he said. “The risk was that if our Major League team had had a COVID outbreak or injury and we had to call people on the taxi team, we were a little short of players. Because there was no chance that you would see these young players at T-Mobile Park. We wouldn’t put them on the 40-man roster, we wouldn’t start the service timer. There were all kinds of reasons why if we had an injury problem or a COVID outbreak, you might have seen my big belly in the left field. You wouldn’t have seen our potential customers play in T-Mobile Park. “

This, along with comments predicted by top MLB debuts from top players Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert in April, have been interpreted as manipulation of service time, which is sure to be a central topic in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association. . Those aspects of Mather’s speech caught the attention of at least one player agent.

Mather praised a number of players during the conversation, but in some cases provided insights that worried those involved.

“Kyle Seager, this will probably be his last season as a Mariner,” Mather said of Seattle’s third baseman, who is entering the final year of his contract. He will, and I’ve already told him, he’ll be a Mariners Hall of Famer when he’s done playing. Last year he seemed to find the Fountain of Youth, had a fantastic year and we expect the same in 2021. “

Julie Seager, Kyle’s wife, appeared to be responding to her Twitter account.

Top prospectus Julio Rodriguez weighed in on this statement quite quickly:

“Julio Rodríguez has a personality greater than all of you put together,” said Mather. ‘He’s noisy. His English isn’t great. Everyone says he will be here in 2021. He won’t be here until 2022 or 2023. A wonderful child. We are very big on social media. He loves to get in front. He likes the Mariners. And between him and Kelenic, we think we have an outfield that will be just as good as any other baseball for the next six or seven years. He’s the real deal. He is ranked higher than Kelenic. “

It is worth noting that Rodríguez is incredibly proud of his English and the Dominican Republic has even gone so far as to host “Vibin ‘with JRod,” an interview program on Mariners’ YouTube channel this winter. He conducts all interviews in English, including this one, as the interviewer does not speak Spanish.

Rodríguez wasn’t the only one whose English was brought up by Mather, who said “it frustrates me” when he started talking about Hisashi Iwakuma, a former All-Star for the team who recently returned to the franchise as a coach on special assignments. Mather continued: “For example, we just rehired Iwakuma, he was a pitcher with us for several years. Great person, his English was awful. He wanted to get back in the game, he came to us, we honestly want him as our Asian scout, interpreter, what’s going on with the Japanese league. He’s coming to spring training. And I’m going to say, I’m tired of paying his interpreter. When he was a player we paid Iwakuma X, but we also had to pay $ 75,000 a year to have an interpreter with him. His English suddenly got better, his English got better when we told him. “

In addition to the comments above, Mather discussed a six-year contract offer that was turned down by Kelenic, calling spring practice not to be delayed a month “embarrassing” and repeatedly calling catcher Luis Torrens “Torres”. He also said Torrens along with potential Cal Raleigh would likely be behind the record for the Mariners for the next six years, which would most likely be disturbing news for Tom Murphy, who expressed his gratitude to the Mariners for getting the best out of him on Saturday. he came over from the Rockies.

Discussing a possible James Paxton or Taijuan Walker autograph (both players were still free agents when the speech took place) is great information that was no doubt appreciated by the intended audience. Admitting that the Mariners had “taken the position that on February 5 there are still 180 free agents without signatures, and sooner or later these players will turn their hats and come out hat in hand, looking for a contract,” he said. words that, however, would not be appreciated by any player.

Participating in events like the Rotary Breakfast is not uncommon for Mariners executives or front office members. It is an opportunity to connect with the community to generate goodwill and interest. While additional insight or prior knowledge is often shared at these events, a little information can go a long way. In the case of the Feb. 5 speech, Mather not only said he had to apologize to countless people, but went beyond the boundaries of what would be beneficial for the organization. A lot of damage has been caused by the reaction that can be seen online on Sunday.

The Mariners are expected to issue a statement Monday morning.

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