Seattle, WA
New Seattle Mariners Coach Kevin Seitzer Discusses ‘Aggressive’ Hitting Philosophy
During the last month of the season, there was an argument to be had that the Seattle Mariners offense was one of the most improved in baseball.
For most of the season, the lineup struggled with strikeouts, inconsistency and injury. There wasn’t a set lineup until August.
The offense ended up leading the league in strikeouts (1,625), but improved after hitting coach Edgar Martinez and Dan Wilson was hired on Aug. 22.
Seattle ranked within the top 10 of the league in several offensive statistics after Martinez and Wilson took the reins. But it was reported that Martinez wouldn’t be back with the team in a full-time capacity in 2025, leaving the team looking for its fourth hitting coach in two seasons.
The Mariners found Martinez’s replacement in the form of decade-long Atlanta Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. Seitzer will be reporting to Martinez. The latter will oversee the hitting program as Senior Director of Hitting Strategy. He’ll travel with the team in a limited capacity, per reports.
Seitzer went on the Foul Territory podcast on Tuesday to talk about his new role and what his approach will be with Seattle.
“I’m in the beginning stages of digging in on these guys. But just going off what Edgar’s told me and (the) front office when we’ve had conversations through the interview process and after I got the job, some of the things they were saying is just Edgar got them in the middle of the field and using the off-gap. Getting back on the fastball, there was a lot of sitting on pitches, taking percentage of counts, or percentage of pitches in certain counts, and then kind of selling out to that. … Edgar just got them hunting the fastball, staying in the middle of the field the other way and just (being) aggressive. And for me, that’s my No. 1 M.O.. You got to have hitters that are aggressive. But the more you have a plan of where you’re hunting that fastball and trying to stay in the middle of the field — it helps with timing, helps with recognition, helps repeat that good swing path to stay inside the ball more consistently.”
New @Mariners hitting coach Kevin Seitzer on the approach and philosophy he’ll bring to Seattle:
💥 Be aggressive — Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) November 26, 2024
💥 Have a plan of where to hunt the fastball
💥 Stay in the middle of the field pic.twitter.com/eGJjvP10t5
Martinez was praised by players like JP Crawford and Julio Rodriguez for his simplified approach at the plate. Martinez will have a say in how the hitting program is constructed throughout the season. But based on Seitzer’s comments, it seems like his philosophy falls in line with Martinez’s.
Seitzer coached two National League MVPs in Freddie Freeman (2020) and Ronald Acuna (2023) and his offenses averaged a ninth-place finish in batting average in his decade in Atlanta.
If that success translates to the Pacific Northwest, then the Mariners’ offense will be much more effective in 2025.
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We survived it last year, barely, but now we’re in for several “months of Hell” as closures of northbound I-5 across the Ship Canal Bridge return.
You deserve a pat on the back if you survived the “month of Hell” between July and August last summer.
You might need therapy to survive what’s about to happen.
Four ‘months of hell’ inbound
Four “months of Hell” will start this weekend with a full closure of northbound I-5 from downtown Seattle to University District. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) needs the weekend to set up a work zone across the Ship Canal Bridge.
Come next Monday, the two left lanes of the northbound Ship Canal Bridge will be closed 24/7, and this is going to last for four months.
I spoke with Tom Pearce, a communications specialist for WSDOT, about the upcoming work last year.
“We will work for about four months, and then we will pause and pick everything up when the World Cup comes to town,” Pearce said. “When the World Cup ends, we will have another weekend-long closure, reset the work zone, and then we’ll start to work on the right lanes of the northbound Ship Canal Bridge.”
And that will come with a second four-month chunk of lane closures.
I’m not sure if you remember just how bad these similar closures were for that one month last summer, but it was absolutely brutal.
To help with the traffic flow, WSDOT kept the I-5 express lanes open in the northbound direction the entire time. The rationale is that it is the direction of travel of the closures.
What that created was a daily one-hour delay, or more, for southbound I-5 drivers. Tens of thousands of southbound drivers use those express lanes every morning, and with that option gone, they had to stay in the main line, creating a daily five-mile backup to the Edmonds exit down to Northgate.
“We know that it was difficult for travelers, particularly for southbound in the morning on I-5,” Pearce said. “People did well at adapting and using other transportation methods and adjusting their schedules. It went relatively well.”
WSDOT is using all the data it collected during that month of closures and is using to help with congestion this time around.
Here’s the setup going forward
Northbound I-5 will be closed through the downtown corridor all weekend. When it reopens on Monday, only the right two lanes will be open until June 5. That weekend, the entire northbound freeway will be closed to remove the work zone.
The work will take a break during the World Cup until July 10. Then, northbound I-5 will be reduced to just two left lanes until the end of the year. The end date hasn’t been released. It was originally scheduled to wrap up in November.
This is going to cause significant delays around Seattle. My best advice is to alter your schedule and get on the road at least an hour earlier than normal.
And if you think you’ll just jump on the light rail out of Lynnwood to avoid the backup, you’re going to need a plan. That parking lot is full by 7 a.m. most mornings. It will likely be filled earlier than that going forward.
Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.
Follow @https://twitter.com/newsguysully
As the holiday season ends, a new week begins, and one of the biggest events this week will be 2026’s first West Seattle Art Walk. The second Thursday is as early as it can get this month – on the 8th – so set your calendar for this Thursday as a special night to get out and enjoy the work of local artists. A preview with this quarter’s map/list and Thursday highlights should appear early in the week on the West Seattle Art Walk website. As usual, neighborhood organizations are supporting clusters of venues in Alki, Admiral, The Junction, and Morgan Junction; places with artist receptions usually start them at 5 pm. No Art of Music performances this month; that feature is on hiatus until later in the year.
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