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The Seattle Mariners fired manager Scott Servais this week as their playoff hopes slip away. New manager Dan Wilson has taken over and is looking to lead the Mariners back from the five-and-a-half-game deficit in the AL West. When he signs the lineup card on Friday, he'll make a little bit of personal history as well, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
“Dan Wilson will manage his first game for the @Mariners almost 43 years to the day after he led the Barrington, Ill., @LittleLeague team to a 3rd-place finish at the 1981 LLWS,” Morosi posted on X, formerly Twitter.
At the time, just four American teams made it to Williamsport. Wilson's Illinois squad represented the Central Region, joined by Stamford, Connecticut, Tampa, Florida, and Escondido, California on the American side. Barrington lost to Tampa in the semi-final 11-10. Taiping Little League from Taichung, Taiwan won the title.
The Mariners will be playing in the Little League Classic next season against the New York Mets. His connection to the Little League World Series will certainly be a talking point, assuming he remains the manager, when the Mariners take the field in August. He was named the manager as opposed to the interim manager, so be sure to look out for that next year.
After a 14-year MLB career, 12 of which were with the Mariners, Wilson joined Seattle's coaching staff. He has been with the franchise since 2013 when he became the Minor League Catching Coordinator. Wilson was a color commentator for the Mariners' games for a few seasons before that as well. He is also a member of the Mariners Hall of Fame.
Now, he takes on a team with high expectations, a stellar rotation, and star players up and down the lineup. Can Wilson lead the Mariners to their first playoff series win since 1995?
Future of Dan Wilson's Seattle Mariners
The Mariners have just a 10.9% chance of making the playoffs, according to Fangraphs. That is down from their season-high mark of 91.7% on June 18. They held a ten-game lead over the Astros in the AL West following that day's win over the Cleveland Guardians. Since then, they have the second-worst record in the majors at 20-33.
While that longer slide has been brutal, it's the play since August 11 that got Servais fired. After sweeping the Mets, they were tied with the Astros atop the West. They have lost eight of nine games since to end Servais' run in Seattle. Wilson starts his tenure with the San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays coming to town.
The season will come down to the second-to-last series of the season. The Mariners head to Houston to play the Astros for three games starting on September 23. Wilson and the Mariners need to ensure that they are not eliminated by the time that series rolls around.
The improvements must start with the offense. They have the worst team batting average in the league and do not have a player with an OPS+ over 114. The Mariners are unlikely to make a run to the playoffs this season but Wilson can lay the groundwork for a successful 2025, including a stop back in Williamsport.
