There have been 20 managers in the history of the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The Mariners franchise was formed in 1977 as a member of the American League. [1] Darrell Johnson was hired as the first Mariners manager, serving for just over three seasons before being replaced during the 1980 season. In terms of tenure, Lou Piniella has managed more games and seasons than any other coach in their franchise history. He managed the Mariners to four playoff berths (1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001), led the team to the American League Championship Series in 1995, 2000 and 2001, and won the Manager of the Year award in 1995 and 2001. [2] Until 2022, Piniella was the only manager in Mariners history to lead a team into the playoffs, with one of those times after a 116-win season, tying the record for most wins in a season. [3] None of the previous managers had made it to the playoffs before. Piniella, however, managed the team in 34 playoff games, winning 15 and losing 19. [4] [5] [6] [7] Dick Williams is the only Mariners manager to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
There have been nine interim managers in Mariners history. In 1980, manager Darrell Johnson was replaced by Maury Wills. In 1981, manager Rene Lachemann replaced Maury Wills. [8] In 1983, Lachemann was relieved by Del Crandall. Crandall did not last a full season either, as Chuck Cottier took over his job in 1984. By 1986, Cottier was replaced with a temporary manager, Marty Martinez. After one game, the Mariners found Dick Williams to take over the role of manager. [9] He in turn was replaced by Jim Snyder in 1988. In 2007, manager Mike Hargrove resigned in a surprise move amidst a winning streak, citing increased difficulty in putting forth the same effort he demanded of his players. Hargrove was replaced with bench coach John McLaren midseason. [10] A year later, in 2008, the Mariners front office decided McLaren was not performing by their standards, and was fired and replaced by interim manager Jim Riggleman. [11] New general manager Jack Zduriencik hired Don Wakamatsu as skipper for the 2009 season; after finishing the season with a .525 winning percentage, the team's poor performance coupled with off-field issues led to Wakamatsu's firing on August 9, 2010. [12] Daren Brown, who was the manager of the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers, managed the Mariners for the remainder of the 2010 season. Eric Wedge was hired to manage the team for the 2011 to 2013 seasons. Lloyd McClendon was hired as the Mariners' manager on November 7, 2013. [13]
# | Number of coaches [A] |
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
PGM | Playoff games managed |
PW | Playoff wins |
PL | Playoff losses |
* | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
Statistics are accurate through the end of the 2023 Major League Baseball Season.
# [a] | Image | Manager | Seasons | G | W | L | Win% | PGM | PW | PL | Awards | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Darrell Johnson | 1977–1980 | 588 | 226 | 362 | .384 | – | – | – | [14] | ||
2 | Maury Wills | 1980–1981 | 82 | 26 | 56 | .317 | – | – | – | [15] | ||
3 | Rene Lachemann | 1981–1983 | 320 | 140 | 180 | .438 | – | – | – | [16] | ||
4 | Del Crandall | 1983–1984 | 224 | 93 | 131 | .415 | – | – | – | [17] | ||
5 | Chuck Cottier | 1984–1986 | 217 | 98 | 119 | .452 | – | – | – | [18] | ||
6 | Marty Martínez | 1986 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | – | – | – | [19] | ||
7 | Dick Williams* | 1986–1988 | 351 | 159 | 192 | .453 | – | – | – | [20] | ||
8 | Jim Snyder | 1988 | 105 | 45 | 60 | .429 | – | – | – | [21] | ||
9 | Jim Lefebvre | 1989–1991 | 486 | 233 | 253 | .479 | – | – | – | [22] | ||
10 | Bill Plummer | 1992 | 162 | 64 | 98 | .395 | – | – | – | [23] | ||
11 | Lou Piniella | 1993–2002 | 1,551 | 840 | 711 | .542 | 34 | 15 | 19 | Manager of the Year Award (1995, 2001) | [24] | |
12 | Bob Melvin | 2003–2004 | 324 | 156 | 168 | .481 | – | – | – | [25] | ||
13 | Mike Hargrove | 2005–2007 | 402 | 192 | 210 | .478 | – | – | – | [26] | ||
14 | John McLaren | 2007–2008 | 156 | 68 | 88 | .436 | – | – | – | [27] | ||
15 | Jim Riggleman | 2008 | 90 | 36 | 54 | .400 | – | – | – | [28] | ||
16 | Don Wakamatsu | 2009–2010 | 274 | 127 | 147 | .464 | – | – | – | [29] | ||
17 | Daren Brown | 2010 | 50 | 19 | 31 | .380 | – | – | – | [30] | ||
18 | Eric Wedge | 2011–2013 | 486 | 213 | 273 | .440 | – | – | – | [31] | ||
19 | Lloyd McClendon | 2014–2015 | 324 | 163 | 161 | .503 | – | – | – | |||
20 | Scott Servais | 2016–2024 | 1,292 | 668 | 624 | .517 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||
21 | Dan Wilson | 2024–present | ||||||||||
In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Each submits a vote for first, second, and third place among the managers of each league.[a] The manager with the highest score in each league wins the award.
Louis Victor Piniella is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. During his playing career, he was named AL Rookie of the Year in 1969 and captured two World Series championships with the Yankees.
Charles Keith Cottier is an American former second baseman, manager, coach, and scout in American Major League Baseball.
John Lowell McLaren is an American former professional baseball coach and manager. He is best known for his brief tenure as manager of the Seattle Mariners, from July 1, 2007 to June 19, 2008. A native of the Houston, Texas area, McLaren was a catcher in the Houston Astros minor league system from 1970 to 1976, and later managed in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system.
Rene George Lachemann is an American former professional baseball coach, catcher and manager. He spent 53 years in Major League Baseball, including service as the manager of the Seattle Mariners (1981–83), Milwaukee Brewers (1984), and expansion Florida Marlins (1993–96).
Manuel Elias Acta is a Dominican former professional baseball manager who is currently the third base coach for the Seattle Mariners, and formerly a broadcast analyst for ESPN and ESPN Deportes. He has served as manager for the Washington Nationals and the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.
James David Riggleman is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) manager and bench coach who coached with several teams between 1989 and 2019.
Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and manager. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox. He served as the bench coach of the Texas Rangers from 2018 through 2021. He was hired as bench coach of the Kansas City Royals for the 2014 season. He was the manager of the Seattle Mariners for the 2009 season, as well as the majority of the 2010 season. He was the Toronto Blue Jays' bench coach for 2011 and 2012, after which he was replaced by DeMarlo Hale. During the 2013 season he worked as a scout for the New York Yankees in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He is currently the first-ever executive vice president of baseball operations with the Oakland Ballers.
The 1983 Major League Baseball season was the seventh season in the history of the Seattle Mariners. They were seventh in the American League West at 60–102 (.370), 39 games behind, with the worst record in the major leagues. They became the first team to fail to sweep an opponent in any series.
The 1982 Seattle Mariners season was their sixth since the franchise creation, and the team finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 76–86 (.469).
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in 1977, the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field, now named T-Mobile Park, has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July 1999. From their 1977 inception until June 1999, the club's home park was the Kingdome.
The 2008 Seattle Mariners season was the 32nd Major League Baseball season in the team's history. Coming off the heels of the previous 2007 season, in which the Mariners finished with their first winning record since 2003, the team was widely expected to once again compete for the American League West championship. The team was bolstered by some major roster additions during the previous offseason, most notably starting pitchers Érik Bédard and Carlos Silva. However, by the end of May, it became apparent that the team had gone back to its losing ways of the 2004–06 seasons. Despite their losing ways, they won their first and last game of the season. Their longest winning-streak of the season is 4 games after a sweep of the Cleveland Indians at the end of August and a 12-6 win against the Texas Rangers on the first day of September. However, standing at 57–87, their longest losing-streak of the season is 12 games, 11 on the road, 1 at home, after being swept by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and suffering a loss at the last homestand opener against the Angels. On September 23, the Mariners became the first club to spend $100 million in payroll and lose 100 games. The team finished the season with a 61–101 (.377) record, last in the West for the 4th time in 5 years, and second worst in the majors.
José Castro is a Cuban professional baseball coach. He was previously a coach for the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox.
The 2009 Seattle Mariners season was the 33rd season in franchise history. They improved upon a disappointing 2008 season, where they finished last in the American League West with a 61–101 record. They finished 3rd in the AL West with an 85–77 record, a 24 win improvement. The 2009 Mariners became the 13th team in MLB history to have a winning record following a 100+ loss season. On September 13, 2009, Ichiro Suzuki got his 200th hit of the season. In the process, he set a new MLB record by getting at least 200 hits for nine consecutive seasons, passing the mark held by Wee Willie Keeler.
Daren Dwayne Brown is an American professional baseball manager, who spent much of the 2013 season as the third base coach of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).