SEATTLE — As the possibility of a managerial change circulated, Scott Servais learned he was no longer managing the Seattle Mariners, not from his boss but from a breaking news report on his TV screen.
The Mariners made a clumsy blunder on Thursday, another misstep in a two-month span that has seen the team go from looking headed toward a division title to falling on the brink of an American League playoff spot.
“This was one of the worst days of my professional career, but the worst part was that Scott and (hitting coach Jarrett DeHart) found out about it on the news,” Mariners executive vice president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said. “It’s tough for me, and I know it’s tough for them.”
Servais was fired midway through his ninth season as the Mariners’ manager, with the team struggling to bounce back after losing a 10-game lead in the American League West with just five weeks left in the regular season.
The team named former Seattle catcher Dan Wilson to replace Servais, who became the second manager in baseball to be fired this season after Pedro Grifol of the Chicago White Sox.
Wilson is the manager going forward, not interim for the remainder of the season.
“The last two months have been very tough, especially the last 10 days, but our team has told us we need to do things a little differently and we’ve tried to do what we can,” Dipoto said.
The decision to fire the 57-year-old Servais came on the heels of a dismal 1-8 road record that saw the Mariners, who were 13 games over .500 in mid-June, fall to 64-64.
As of Thursday, the Mariners were five games behind Houston in the American League West and 7.5 games back of the wild-card standings.
But Seattle’s play since taking a 10-game lead over the division on June 18 has not inspired optimism for a turnaround over the final five weeks of the regular season.
“When you think about where we were in mid-June and where we are today, it’s just unbelievable how quickly it all fell apart for us and the way our team has been playing,” Dipoto said.
Servais arrived in Seattle alongside Dipoto prior to the 2016 season.
He went 680-642 during his time with Seattle, but underwent a major rebuild midway through his tenure that ultimately turned the Mariners into a competitive team, but it wasn’t enough.
He was the second-longest-tenured manager in franchise history, behind Lou Piniella.
Servais released a statement through the team late Thursday in which he thanked the players, ownership and fans for his work with the Mariners.
“To the people of the City of Seattle, you have embraced me and my family and we are forever grateful for your support. As this chapter closes, I leave proud of what we have accomplished together and excited for the future,” Servais said.
The Mariners have struggled with an offensive shortfall this season, which has been especially painful considering Seattle’s pitching staff was statistically the best in baseball for most of the season.
Seattle’s pitching staff is among the best in the nation in ERA, WHIP and batting average allowed.
Meanwhile, the Mariners rank 30th in batting average, 29th in slugging percentage and boast the most strikeouts in the league.
Seattle has scored two points or fewer 48 times in 128 games this season and is 6-42 in those games.
However, a series of plays from mid-June onwards ultimately led to a change in manager.
As of June 19, the Mariners had a 44-31 record and were 10 games ahead in the division.
But the Mariners are 20-33 since then, including 7-15 against Detroit, Pittsburgh, Miami and the Los Angeles Angels (all teams with sub-.500 winning percentages).
Trade-deadline acquisitions Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner haven’t provided the offensive spark Seattle hoped for, and injuries to Julio Rodriguez and JP Crawford have dampened any hopes of overturning the slump.
The 55-year-old Wilson, who will take charge for the first time on Friday night when the Mariners open their series against the San Francisco Giants, has served in a variety of roles with the organization, including acting manager of the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate and as a commentator for the team’s television broadcasts.
He has held the title of special assistant for player development in the team’s baseball operations department for the past seven years.
Wilson is the 21st manager in franchise history and the 18th full-time manager.
“Nobody knows people better than Dan Wilson. I believe in him as a baseball player and as a person,” Dipoto said. “I think that resonates very well with the players.”
In Seattle, Servais will forever be remembered as the manager who helped the Mariners end the longest playoff drought in baseball history when they clinched a wild-card berth in 2022. Servais was the leader of the party the night Seattle clinched the berth, and the Mariners beat Toronto in the wild-card series before losing to Houston in the AL Series divisional series.
Seattle was Servais’ first managerial job, having worked in the front offices of Texas and the Angels before taking over as manager of the Mariners.
