Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh recently tried to call out his team’s front office for its shortcomings. It seems as though Raleigh’s words will not change the plans of team president Jerry Dipoto.
After Seattle was eliminated from postseason contention last week, Raleigh aired some frustration against the Mariners’ lack of commitment to building a true World Series contender. The 26-year-old catcher lauded other teams, such as the Texas Rangers, for acquiring top-shelf talent to bolster their lineups and pitching staffs. Raleigh believes the Mariners failed to do the same.
Dipoto disagreed with Raleigh during the Mariners’ season-ending press conference on Tuesday. The 55-year-old executive stated that the team’s goal is “to build a sustainably good roster.” Dipoto pegged that to mean targeting a 54% win rate every season instead of trying to go for broke every single year.
“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,” said Dipoto.
While Dipoto’s desire for long-term success rather than going for broke is understandable, that won’t be satisfying for the team’s fans and players who want to win now. Some of those fans responded to the video of the Mariners president posted on X.
The Mariners have never even made it past the ALCS and have just five playoff appearances throughout the franchise’s 46 years of existence.
Mariners fans probably wouldn’t mind taking some risks if it meant a greater chance at actually making a World Series.
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