PEORIA, Ariz. – He came to Seattle in 2016 as a mystery man, hand-picked by new general manager Jerry Dipoto as the latest candidate to try to lead the Mariners out of their playoff desert. Considering that Scott Servais had never managed at any level, the selection was met with a heavy dose of skepticism.
But here Servais is, beginning his eighth season as the Mariners’ manager, having morphed from an object of cynical scrutiny in those early days to one of the most firmly established managers in all of baseball. Whereas a steady succession of hopefuls before him in Seattle had flamed out quickly since Lou Piniella migrated to Tampa Bay in 2003, Servais has instead become a fixture.
How much so? Out of 30 managers in MLB, only three have been with their current team longer than Servais: Cleveland’s Terry Francona, entering his 11th season at the helm of the Guardians, and Kevin Cash of Tampa Bay and Craig Counsell of Milwaukee, both starting a ninth season with their respective ballclubs. Dave Roberts started with the Dodgers the same year as Servais.
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Over that time, Servais’ credentials have solidified, most notably by being the One Who Ended The Drought. He has finished in the top 3 in Manager of the Year voting the past two years after guiding the Mariners to back-to-back 90-win seasons. Those who once questioned Servais’ managerial acumen can’t ignore the fact that the Mariners in 2022 became the first team to lead the major leagues in one-run wins in consecutive seasons since the Cincinnati Reds in ’97 and ’98. That’s Eighteen-97 and -98.
Servais, in a quiet moment in his office on Saturday, said he savors the continuity the Mariners have developed, which he believes is conducive to a successful organization. The M’s stuck with him through some lean years, like the 94-loss season at the outset of their rebuild. Now he stands behind only Piniella in franchise victories at 528-504. Piniella (840-711), Lloyd McClendon (163-161) and Servais are the only ones of the 20 managers in franchise history to have a winning percentage above .500.
“I think with a lot of teams, especially in football, turnover is very quick,” Servais said. “Baseball is getting there, too. Ownership gets frustrated, the fan base gets frustrated, and they say, ‘We need to change.’
“I get that change is sexy sometimes. But I think more than anything, I’m just very grateful with our ownership group that they recognize the importance of continuity.”
That said, Servais believes he’s a different manager than the one who Dipoto hired out of the front office of the Angels, where he was in charge of scouting and player development. That followed stints in player development and scouting by Servais with the Rangers, Rockies and Cubs after an 11-year catching career in the majors.
Early on in his Seattle tenure, Servais was aggressively hands-on, trying to put his stamp on every aspect of the ballclub, from on-field instruction to building team chemistry. He still prioritizes the latter, but has learned to lean on his coaching staff more and more.
“I’ve really focused more on just coaching coaches, and dealing with relationships with players, and not so much tinkering with so and so’s swing or this guy’s slider or this catcher’s setup,” Servais said. “You’ve got to be willing to change some. And I’ve changed a lot over time.”
While the Mariners have developed a young core of players that gives them hope their playoff appearance in 2022 won’t be a one-off, they also believe their clubhouse culture is a hidden strength. Servais savors the team bonding meetings each morning of camp and works at developing relationships to the point he can be blunt in his assessments.
“I think our guys know me well enough, I’m not afraid to ask the real hard questions like, ‘What the hell are we doing with this?’ We’ll let them talk and then put out there, ‘You might want to try this.’ “
Servais happily admits that he loves learning about players’ stories and drawing out the path that got them to a big-league camp. Each day in spring, he’ll interview a different player, from stars to scrubs, and delve into his background in front of the full squad. These sessions serve the dual purpose of helping the manager figure out what makes his players tick, and developing camaraderie with teammates.
“I love that part of it,” Servais said. “I think everybody’s got a story. They want to tell it. You just got to give him the opportunity to do it.”
Servais realizes that the Mariners’ success – consecutive 90-win seasons, and a playoff series victory over Toronto – helps give him cachet with the players. It is inevitable that as one’s track record grows, so does the respect he earns.
At the same time, Servais has started to build a reservoir of signature moments that help endear him to the fan base. Think of him flailing away at the bottom of the pile during the Angels’ brawl last season, or lighting a victory cigar after the long-coveted playoff spot was clinched, or giving a heartfelt speech to the fans at T-Mobile Park that night and concluding with a robust, “Let’s Party!”
Servais pushes back against the notion that he’s too stoic in his dugout demeanor, calling it “a bad rap” with a method behind it.
“I think it has to be that way,” he said. “You want players to have that stable feeling about the organization. It’s not like we’re going a different direction every year. We have a plan. And the continuity has been huge. Players know what to expect.”
Mystery solved.