Major League Baseball

Mariners president Jerry Dipoto issues apology: 'I'm generally embarrassed'

Updated Oct. 5, 2023 4:09 p.m. ET

Two days after providing several regrettable remarks in his end-of-season news conference, Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto issued an apology.

Appearing on Seattle Sports 710-AM's "Brock & Salk," Dipoto said he was "embarrassed" by his comments and reassured Seattle's fan base that the Mariners aren't trying to be mediocre, and are committed to winning a World Series.

"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. "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's apology is related to his answer surrounding the organization's lack of playoff appearances as of late. The Mariners failed to return to the MLB playoffs this October after doing so for the first time in 21 years in 2022.

"If you go back, and you look in a decade, those teams that win 54% of the time always wind up in the postseason and they more often than not wind up in a World Series, so there's your bigger picture process," Dipoto said. "Nobody wants to hear 'the goal this year is we're going win 54% of the time.' … One year, you're going to 60% and another year you're going to win 50%; it's whatever it is. But over time that type of mindset gets you there. …

"If what you're doing is focusing year-to-year on ‘what do 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 in asking for their patience to win the World Series, while we continue to build a sustainably good roster."

… m'kay, so perhaps Dipoto was referencing a pair of American League franchises that went through entrenched rebuilds? The AL West-rival Houston Astros are the poster child for going from rudderless to prosperous.

From 2009-2014, the Astros won no more than 76 games and had three consecutive 106-plus-loss seasons from 2011-13. In the later years of that span, Houston drafted players who became vital parts of a team that went on to win the World Series in 2017 and — for those that were still present — again in 2022 (e.g. George Springer, Lance McCullers Jr., Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker).

In the present, the Baltimore Orioles just pulled off their first 100-win season since 1980 after finishing in the bottom third of the sport three times from 2018-21. During that time, they drafted players who are now integral parts of their 2023 operation, like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez.

As for the Mariners, linchpins like outfielder Julio Rodriguez, catcher Cal Raleigh and starting pitchers Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are homegrown products. With all that said, this team was coming off back-to-back 90-win seasons (55.6%) and was in first place in the AL West as late as September this season. Furthermore, the Mariners have made a bevy of high-profile moves over the last two years to bolster a presumed contender (e.g. adding Luis Castillo, Eugenio Suarez, Robbie Ray and Teoscar Hernandez).

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For perspective, the Philadelphia Phillies have also made a handful of significant moves in recent memory (e.g. signing Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos in 2022), which helped them reach the World Series last season. They're once again in the playoffs this season.

Dipoto has been with Seattle since September 2015, when he was hired to be its general manager. He was promoted to president in September 2021. The Mariners have reached the playoffs once under his direction.

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