Marco Gonzales was the first Mariners player to speak after Kevin Mather resigned. (Getty)
When the whole disaster of the Rotary Club of Kevin Mather / Breakfast Bellevue came to the fore, it was impossible to prevent the film “Major League” from occurring to me when thinking about the Mariners.
M is angry and frustrated, but believes the team is ‘strong enough to resist’
While fully recognizing how serious the situation is and will continue to be until confidence inside and outside the walls of T-Mobile Park is restored, players and staff fought a villainous frontman in a “let’s show you why winner ”didn’t seem like a terrible way for this group to go.
That thought may have crossed the mind of Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzales, too.
“Sometimes a common goal can bring it together, sometimes a common enemy can do the same, if not more. I think this is the boat we’re on now, ”said Gonzales in a Zoom media session on Tuesday, minutes after the Mariners’ first full team workout ended in Peoria, Ariz.
This is the man Mather called “very annoying”, bringing him on as the first Mariners player to speak since the insulting comments from the now ex-president and CEO of the Mariners on February 5 were made public on Sunday.
If you know Marco, you expect the fire. You know that the chip on your shoulder is used for good. That said, you may be a little alarmed by the “us versus them” mentality – specifically the need for that mentality.
Fortunately, Marco said other things, too.
“I think it’s a big picture, we see it as an isolated incident. Their opinions are their own, ”said Gonzales of Mather. “Certainly the relevance he has for this team and this group, he is not close to us. He is not here throwing a ball, he is not swinging a club. Although some of your words were painful, personal, certainly for me, I think we are much stronger than that. It will take much longer to separate this group. “
Gonzales spoke about the team’s culture, echoing the words of manager Scott Servais and general manager Jerry Dipoto about the importance of having a team that is beginning to be commanded and guided by the players themselves. It was a long process to reach this point, with leadership and values emphasized in the minor leagues and Servais working to create an open and player-oriented environment at the level of the major leagues.
As someone who has been in the Mariners’ club since 2002, the difference I saw in the past two years has been remarkable, and perhaps never more exposed than on August 26 last year, when the team voted unanimously due to the Jacob police shooting Blake not to play his scheduled game that night against the Fathers. The decision came after a discussion between the players and Servais in what was called an exciting team meeting.
“I am extremely proud to be part of this group,” said Gonzales that afternoon. “We listen, love and support each other in this difficult time. But I am heartbroken for my brothers and teammates who fear for their lives and the lives of their families on a daily basis. This is not baseball now. It’s about justice, equality and understanding. Thanks to our Mariners family for supporting us and defending what is right. “
It’s hard to imagine a team that has gone through everything that has gone together in the past year – from the uncertainty of even playing a season, to the uncertainty of how they could safely run one out of a bubble, to the social justice issues that were finally brought up. forward – would fall apart because of a man’s comments.
If Marco says they can withstand these personal scams as a team, I believe him.
I also believe that, while a popular axiom is that culture flows from top to bottom, I don’t think that is necessarily true in baseball. Gonzales recalls that Mather was not close to them. He was not swinging a bat or playing a ball with them. He was also not wearing a uniform, or throwing them batting training, or providing and sharing numbers for them, or looking after them in the training room, or helping them with the media, or helping them with anything else they needed while taking care of their uniforms and equipment. In short, he wasn’t with them doing anything every day to help put them in a better place to win a ball game.
That’s what a team is in this game, and that team is not getting any suggestions from outside the clubhouse. This does not mean, however, that they are immune to the damage that has been caused.
“I think it’s something we are all ashamed of,” said Gonzales. “We all feel that it does not represent our culture, it does not represent the character of this team. We think it’s a punch in the stomach, but something we can move on with, and we certainly want to make sure we’re all on the same page. Although we have our differences between the players and the front office, we want to be under a single organization. We want to move forward as a group. I hope we can strive to do that.
“(Dipoto) touched on actions that speak much louder than words, we have a little confidence to compensate, but I know that everyone has the right intentions here who are at the camp. Everyone is doing their best to try to become a better person, a better player, a better team member every day. “
As the team does its best, you expect to see the same from the other side of the organization. You hope that, no matter how convinced the Mariners are that it was an isolated incident, the whys and hows of that event will be explored. This is due to everyone who is under the umbrella “Mariners”.
“I’m ashamed,” said Dipoto. “I am embarrassed to be seen like that. For those of you who were close to me or Scott or this team, this is not how we are programmed. It is embarrassing to be categorized or to deal with the stigma to which we are attached and we have to get rid of it. Now we have to be accountable to him and find a way to grow beyond.
“I apologize on behalf of our organization for the comments that were made – again, it was the interpretation of a single person. It doesn’t really represent what I feel, Scott feels, our 26 players feel, our system worth players feels, and many of the wonderful high-character people who work for the Mariners who also went to bed on Sunday night feeling ashamed of this association. The only thing we can say to our fans is, we’re sorry. We will do better. “
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