Before Jeff Passan’s description of Mariners fans as “spoiled and greedy” went viral last off-season, there was a different quote that left a sour taste in Mariners’ fans mouths during the long off-season: disgraced former team president Kevin Mather, speaking to a room of his peers in 2021, describing the team’s approach to free agency as waiting for players to come “hat in hand.” Mather, and the Mariners in general, were roundly criticized, especially as divisional foe Texas went on to sign Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to seven-year deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
This year, the quote that might stick the most in Mariners’ fans minds didn’t come from a member of the front office, but from the player who, with one swing of the bat, broke Seattle’s lengthy post-season drought: Cal Raleigh, the night the team was eliminated from contention, calling on the team to acquire “big-time” players and veterans with experience in high-pressure games to help supplement the team’s core.