It’s Mariners season and for the first time since 2009, the team is currently over .500 to start the month of April! If you haven’t been paying attention to this team, then maybe you should be.
“I wouldn’t stray too far from the SEA sports scene today…” What exactly did Brock Huard, college football analyst and radio host of the Brock and Salk show, mean by this cryptic tweet? Well, now I think we have a good idea. For the first time in 24 years, Nintendo is selling its majority ownership to a group of 17 minority owners led by John Stanton. The deal, if approved by MLB, is expected to close in August with Nintendo retaining 10% stake in ownership in which the team is valued at $1.4 billion.
So what does this mean for a franchise that has not made a postseason appearance since 2001? For the last couple of years, the media has projected the Mariners to be a playoff caliber team, and year after year, they continue to disappoint. Either they have a good starting rotation and no hitting, or they have hitting and a weak bullpen and the list goes on. What will it take for the Mariners to field a complete team and make it back into the postseason? How about a winning season? Is winning due to the culture of the organization? Let’s say hypothetically, this is true. How do you establish a winning culture?
One important piece is leadership. The majority of fans have never heard of new CEO and Chairman John Stanton. John Stanton is a pioneer in the wireless industry who founded the first nationwide cellular network in the 1980’s called McCaw Cellular. He is also the former Chairman of Clearwire Corp, serves on the board of directors of Columbia Sportswear, and was minority owner of the Mariners and Seattle Supersonics. However, Stanton is not just a successful business man; he is also a fan of baseball. Stanton is a local who grew up in Seattle watching baseball and still does. He has already watched 46 baseball games this year, 36 were college and the rest Mariners. He remembers that time crying when the Seattle Pilots were sold and relocated to Milwaukee in the 70’s. This is a stark contrast between Hiroshi Yamauchi, previous Chairman of Nintendo, who never saw a Mariners baseball game.
This may be encouraging to Mariners fans who remember the golden years when Ken Griffey, Jr., Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, and Dan Wilson took the field. And who could forget about the skipper, Lou Piniella? The Mariners had a winning culture and it is Stanton’s goal to bring that winning culture back to the city of Seattle by winning a World Series.
“I think Howard has done a terrific job,” Stanton said. “He and I are different people and I’ll approach things in different ways than he does. I think to have the kind of enthusiasm in the back office is important in terms of the kind of culture you have in the organization. But ultimately in baseball it’s about winning on the field. I think working with Jerry and Scott and following Kevin’s leadership, we’ll do everything we can to put a winning team on the field and bring home the good results for the city of Seattle.”
Stanton mentions how important culture is to an organization. There is no other goal to accomplish except for winning a championship. Former CEO Howard Lincoln not only had to convince MLB to allow Nintendo to take majority ownership in the team, he had to ensure that the Mariners remained a permanent fixture in Seattle. His only regret is not seeing the team make the playoffs in what is currently the longest postseason drought in baseball. Hopefully this change in leadership is exactly what the Mariners need to establish that winning culture and consistently make the playoffs. Stanton, let’s see what you can do!
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