Why the Seattle Mariners believe in new manager Jason Kanzler

SEATTLE - Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in September that the team needed a reset after a disappointing campaign that saw a projected World Series contender post their first losing season in six years.

Jason Kanzler – hired as the 22nd manager in franchise history – will be the one tasked with getting the team back on track in 2027.

"I bring a unique path, a unique set of skills and experiences," Kanzler said at an introductory press conference on Wednesday. "I am not the traditional path towards managing. I'm the right man because I believe that every player and every person can be better, and I think these players so deeply want to be better, and to grow and to win as a unit, and I'm excited to get that out of them."

Dig deeper:

Kanzler, 36, has no managerial experience in professional baseball. Kanzler was a 20th-round draft pick out of the University of Buffalo by the Minnesota Twins in 2013. He spent three seasons in A-ball for the Twins before retiring as a player. 

After a stint as a high school teacher in Texas, Kanzler was hired as a minor league hitting coach by the Houston Astros in 2019. He spent two seasons on the Astros’ major league staff in 2022-23 before taking over as the Cubs’ farm director in 2024. He becomes the third straight manager hired by Dipoto and the Mariners without any prior managerial experience. Kanzler takes over for Dan Wilson, who was not retained after the season.

Despite saying it would be preferred to have someone with experience, Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander said Kanzler blew them away to such an extent that it outweighed the experience factor.

"The process was lengthy," Dipoto said. "It's been 30 days-plus in the making. It was rigorous. We had conversations around the league. We got recommendations. We put together a long list of candidates. We reduced that list multiple times. Narrowed it down to a short list. 

"You know, experience is good. In this case, we didn't think it was good enough to dissuade us from all of the traits that Jason brings to the table. He checked almost every box that you could check in terms of career experiences. The uniqueness of his developmental path, I think, is going to go a long way with modern players. The way he communicates, as you see here today, or you will in the time of moving forward, it's very clear. You won't be confused as to what the directive is when you leave the station, and I think our players will pick up on that at year's end."

The Mariners interviewed Kanzler in 2021 for a major league hitting coach job. Kanzler didn't wind up with the Mariners then, but he remained on the team's radar ever since. Hollander said that the interview was "one of the most, if not the most, impressive interviews that I think all of us had ever been a part of. And when you have someone that's like your white whale, someone that you're really excited to get to work with someday."

The backstory:

The one thing Dipoto and the Mariners did follow through on was the desire to bring in someone outside the organization. Dipoto said after the season they needed to refresh the view on the team and roster and find some new ideas to supplement their program. It had been over a decade since the Mariners last conducted a managerial search. Dipoto hired Scott Servais as his first manager after taking the general manager job in Seattle in 2015. Wilson was hired as Servais' replacement without an open search in August 2024.

"The easy answer is I hope it's at least another decade before we have to go through that again," Dipoto said. "It's a good process. We advanced. We had far deeper questions to ask. We engaged far more of our baseball operations team in the process, and I think that was a good thing. And maybe as opposed to 2015, I know more about the Mariners now. … I had been with the Mariners for about a month and a half, you know, and now I have a greater understanding of of how this organization works, its systems, its programs, and what types of traits we thought would be the best fit to put in place to lead our team, and that's what led us to Jason."

Kanzler said he realized how much he wanted to be a major league manager while going through the process with the Mariners.

"I want to win,"Kanzler said. "I want to develop people. I want to develop players, and I want to achieve something with a collective and a great group of people around me. And that’s what this is going to be.

"I remember coming here when I was with the team that shall not be named," he said, alluding to the Houston Astros. "And what distinctly stands out to me is this atmosphere is electric. I think maybe I'm misremembering, but I remember, I think, that ‘Electric Factory’ was even like a thing that was used. I think one of the things that excites me, among many things, is that I would like to ride the lightning with this team and this city. Now, in terms of the players, I think it's extremely exciting. This is a young group; they are talented. They are. This is a good team already, and they have the potential and the talent to be an excellent team."

Kanzler said he's not looking to impose a certain identity on the team. He believes that identity will evolve organically over time. But the goal is to win.

"My role in that is making sure that I'm facilitating the best possible version of that identity," he said. "The brand of baseball that I'd like to see and be manifest in this identity is something akin to, like, step on their throats. We want to win. We want to beat the other team, but we have to do it in whatever way possible, not some broad sweeping methodology.

"It's doing obviously the big things right. It's doing all of the little things right all of the time, but most importantly, it is not doing the wrong things as much as humanly possible. What we allow is what we stand for. And so that's what culture means to me."

MORE MARINERS NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

Seattle Mariners introduce new skipper Jason Kanzler

Seattle Mariners name Jason Kanzler as new field manager

Jason Kanzler slated to become Mariners new manager

Seattle Mariners' Cole Young wins Gold Glove Award

Seattle Mariners exercise Andrés Muñoz's option

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.