Mariners' Dipoto gives wild explanation for team's plan for success

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto. Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Mariners' Jerry Dipoto gives wild explanation for team's long-term plan for success

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 10/3/23

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is asking the team's fans for patience after missing the postseason.

How much patience, exactly?

Well, a lot.

Dipoto gave a pretty wild explanation for what his long-term plan with the Mariners is and said he is thinking over the course of 10 years. Specifically, he is trying to build an organization that wins 54% of its games over a 10-year period.

The Mariners won at least 54% of their games in each of the past three years with only one playoff appearance to show for it.

Just in case you were wondering, a 54% winning percentage is 87 wins over an 162-game season which is far from a guarantee to make the playoffs.

So how does that translate into a sensible plan? Well, let's let Dipoto explain it.

Jerry Dipoto says he operates with a 10-year plan to win 54% of the time.

"We're actually doing the fanbase a favor in asking for their patience to win the World Series while we continue to build a sustainably good roster." pic.twitter.com/EUfd04TsTo
— Jake García (@Jake_M_Garcia) October 3, 2023

Basically, Dipoto is going for an extreme big picture plan here and is banking on the fact that if a team wins 54% of its games over a 10-year period it probably isn't going to do so by winning 87 games every year.

It might only win 60 games one year, but might win 90 another year. His argument is that teams that average that sort of winning percentage over that time frame typically have a lot of playoff appearances and a World Series to show for it.

It is an interesting approach, and does make some degree of sense.

But trying to sell a franchise that has never seen a World Series appearance, let alone a World Series victory, and has made the playoffs just one time in the past 22 years is a massive ask.

Dipoto has been a member of the Mariners' front office since the start of the 2016 season. During that time the Mariners have won 51% of their games. That is an eight-year stretch, meaning the Mariners have some ground to make up over the next two years to meet DiPoto's goal and see where it gets them.

The Mariners do have a really good team led by superstar centerfield Julio Rodriguez, but they are still clearly missing a piece or two to get to where their fans want them.

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