Seattle, WA

Seattle Mariners Insider: Adjustments pay off for surging Haniger

Published

2 years ago

August 4, 2024

Seattle Mariners Insider: Adjustments pay off for surging Haniger

Don’t look now, but for the last two weeks Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger has looked like the Mitch Haniger who has stepped to the plate in big situations so many times in his Mariners career and had the look of a guy who could do damage. Not the player who had been mired in a near season-long struggle at the plate.

Gregory Santos to IL, plus other Seattle Mariners injury updates

There had been hints lately that perhaps it was coming together, but after homering off lefties who had strangely been his Kryptonite this year two days in a row, it appears safe to dare to believe. Haniger for his part certainly does and told his skipper as much recently.

“He said it about 10 days ago, I’m about to get hot,” said Scott Servais following the Mariners’ 6-5 series clinching win over the Phillies on Saturday. “You can just see he’s seeing the ball better. His timing’s good. The quality at-bats, he’s hitting the ball harder and not always getting the ball to fall in, but he has here recently. And when he gets hot, he can hit any pitch, he can hit who’s ever on the mound, right or left, and we’re seeing that right now.”

Over the past two weeks Haniger, who posted a .570 OPS in May and .601 in June, has run an OPS of 1.005 with a wRC+ of 186. In his walk-off interview on the field following the win Saturday, Haniger pointed to changes he recently made as leading to what he is doing at the plate currently.

“Just working on my posture and I feel really good,” he said. “I’ve been feeling good for a while, just haven’t been getting my results.”

Haniger said changes he made coming into spring training that he initially had success with this year had ultimately failed him, and it took him awhile to throw them to the side and go back to what he had done previously.

“The frustrating part is the work is always good,” he explained in his postgame media session. “The BP felt good. Just the results in the game were not there. The missing pitches, just constantly kind of feeling like I’m always ready to break through and not happening. And then just always watching film and comparing the present to the past and seeing where I’m at and what I need to adjust, and kind of a light bulb went off and it’s like I wish it didn’t take me 2 1/2 months or three months to figure it out, but I’m glad I did.”

In his on-field interview, Haniger credited work put in with the training staff and hitting coaches in getting him to the point where things are clicking again. He also pointed to a new teammate as having a part in the process as well.

“For me, talking with (Justin) Turner, he’s a big help for me as a guy whose swing I studied for a while,” he said. “So he’s a he’s a guy I’ve been leaning on and asking a lot of questions, and it’s really good to have in our clubhouse.”

While a hitting coach can make suggestions and encourage changes, teammates who have been there, done that and are currently doing that, bring reassurance. They often can be their own best resources, something former Mariner Mike Cameron understands and shared on social media in response to what Haniger said on the field.

“When you bring in a veteran that’s had success and a winning pedigree the one thing he’s always going to do is be a set of eyes and bring validation to even veterans! I like it,” Cameron wrote.

When you bring in a veteran that’s had success and a winning pedigree the one thing he’s always is going to do is …be a set of eyes and bring validation to even veterans! I like it💪🏿✊🏿
— MIKE CAMERON (@_mcameron44) August 4, 2024

Servais has stuck with Haniger through the struggles. His patience is now being rewarded with more than just good signs.

“You can’t get always caught up in the in the batting average,” Servais said. “There’s the luck factor. … Mitch has hit a lot of balls hard against left-handed pitching and has got nothing to show for it. When you pull back the hood and you look at all the internal metrics on that, the at-bats have been better against lefties, but the batting average, the OPS, it is what it is. He knows that and he made a few adjustments. He’s been right on the lefties of late. The swings have been on time. He’s getting ahead of the bat out, he’s driving the ball. He’s starting to feel it, and we need it.”

If Haniger is feeling it, those around him will as well. He is that kind of player. He’s got confidence in the path both he and the team are on.

“Things are just clicking. That’s how baseball works,” he said. “You just got to keep putting in the work in. Things will turn. We got a lot of really good players in our clubhouse. The first half hitting performance-wise wasn’t there, but it just means we’re going to be hot the second half and we’ll ride into the playoffs.”

More on Seattle Mariners

• Mariners claim reliever off waivers from AL West rival
• How experts are grading Seattle Mariners trade deadline moves
• How much did Mariners give up at trade deadline?
• Insider explains why Seattle Mariners were winners at trade deadline
• Watch: Two M’s launch upper-deck HRs, Turner hits grand slam

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Seattle, WA

The Seattle Mariners are likely done dealing… at least for now

Published

6 hours ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

The Seattle Mariners are likely done dealing… at least for now

In what turned out to be a an offseason of highs and lows for Mariners general manager Justin Hollander and team president Jerry Dipoto. However, they were able to cap off a frustrating few weeks by acquiring infielder and 2024 All-Star, Brendan Donovan.

Wile the club saw last year’s second baseman, Jorge Polanco, and third baseman, Eugenio Suarez depart, Donovan may be a better fit for the club. He doesn’t hit with anywhere near the power of those two former Mariners, but he’s much more consistent. He ranks among MLB’s best in on-base percentage over his for years in the big leagues, and he’s a skilled defender who won a GoldGlove in his rookie season.

A career .282 hitter, Donnie gives the M’s a lot of options in the batting order and fills one of the two vacancies in the Seattle infield. The other spot seems to come down to a comperition between young players, with top prospects Colt Emerson and Cole Young battling it out with second-year man Leo Rivas during Spring Training. The most likely scenario would involve a platoon or a rotating system among at least two of them.

CLICK FOR MORE: Seattle host says Mariners’ trade for Brendan Donovan is ‘what contending teams do’

The Mariners have certainly re-loaded with enough ammo to repeat as the division champs in 2026, but are they still looking to pull off an 11th hour deal as pitchers and catchers will begin reporting to Arizona? COuld there be one more deal up the sleeve of the team’s fantastic front office?

The Mariners seem content with what they have

Heading into the new season, Seattle seems set as they look to repeat as American League West Division Champions. Although you can never put anything past the dealing duo of Hollander and Dipoto, the team can win with the cards they’ve already been dealt.

But as Spring Training unfolds and the cleats hit the field, the team will have a bird’s-eye view of what they’re working with. If management feels like they’re faltering because they’re relying on players like Emerson too much and too fast, look for them to try to bring in a stopgap veteran. Otherwise? There’s no reason to mess with this roster until at least mid-May.

More Seattle Mariners News & Opinions

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Rick Rizzs, iconic voice of the Mariners, announces he will retire after 2026 season

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Seattle, WA

UFC Seattle Lineup Nearly Complete with 11 Confirmed Bouts

Published

18 hours ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

UFC Seattle Lineup Nearly Complete with 11 Confirmed Bouts

Israel Adesanya will be a featured attraction at UFC Seattle. |
Getty/UFC

The card for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming trip to the Emerald
City is close to being finalized.

The Las Vegas-based promotion on Wednesday confirmed 11 bouts for

UFC Seattle, many of which had already been reported. UFC
Seattle — also known as UFC Fight Night 271 — takes place on March
28 at Climate Pledge Arena and is headlined by a middleweight
showdown pitting Israel
Adesanya against Joe Pyfer. In
the co-main event, ex-flyweight queen Alexa
Grasso will square off against Maycee
Barber at 125 pounds. The card will air in its entirety on
Paramount+.

Adesanya has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances dating
back to November 2022. In his lone appearance of 2025, “The Last
Stylebender” suffered a second-round technical knockout defeat to
Nassourdine
Imavov in the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner last February.
Adesanya captured 185-pound gold in October 2019 and authored five
successful title defenses before relinquishing the belt to
kickboxing rival Alex
Pereira at UFC 281.

A two-time competitor on
Dana White’s Contender Series, Pyfer has gone 6-1 in the
promotion since earning a UFC contract in 2022. After suffering his
lone career Octagon defeat to Jack
Hermansson in the UFC Fight Night 236 main event, “Bodybagz”
has rebounded to post successive triumphs against Marc-Andre
Barriault, Kelvin
Gastelum and Abusupiyan
Magomedov.

UFC Seattle Card

Israel
Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer
Alexa
Grasso vs. Maycee
Barber
Marcin
Tybura vs. Valter
Walker
Chase
Hooper vs. Lance
Gibson Jr.
Michael
Chiesa vs. Carlston
Harris
Navajo
Stirling vs. Bruno
Lopes
Mansur
Abdul-Malik vs. Yousri
Belgaroui
Casey
O’Neill vs. Gabriella
Fernandes
Julian
Erosa vs. Lerryan
Douglas
Kangjie
Zhu vs. Marcio
Barbosa
Carol
Foro vs. Stephanie
Luciano

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Seattle, WA

Talk, walk, listen, run, play, create … 24 options for your West Seattle Wednesday!

Published

1 day ago

February 4, 2026

Press Room

Talk, walk, listen, run, play, create … 24 options for your West Seattle Wednesday!

(Tuesday morning on Elliott Bay – photographed by Mike Burns)

Lots of possibilities for your Wednesday, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, have numerous highlights:

WALKING FOR WELL-BEING: 10 am Wednesday walks leave from 47th/Fontanelle (so if you didn’t see this in the calendar in time, here’s a reminder for next week).

TODDLER READING TIME AT PAPER BOAT: 10:30 am at the bookstore. (4522 California SW; WSB sponsor)

PLAY AMERICAN MAH JONGG: 2-4 pm, play at the new location of Missing Piece (4707 California SW).

VR FOR TEENS’ MENTAL HEALTH: Try it out at 2:30 pm, Southwest Library (9010 35th SW).

ART WORKSHOP: Drop-in art for kids withRec ‘N The Streets at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW), 3-4:30 pm.

HOLY ROSARY FUNDRAISER AT LADY JAYE: “Eighth grade students from Holy Rosary are raising money to go to Washington DC after graduation this June. There will be a fundraiser tonight, Wednesday, February 4th, at Lady Jaye from 4 pm until close. It’s Whiskey Wednesday featuring Old Fitzgerald 7yr wheated bourbon for $8 all evening. Please make sure to mention Holy Rosary School to your server!” (4523 California SW)

DROP-IN HOMEWORK HELP: 4-7:30 pm at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond), free drop-in help for students.

ROCK BAND GAMING AT MR. B’S MEAD CENTER: 5-10 pm, weekly event in South Delridge! (9444 Delridge Way SW)

16TH SW PARKING MEETING: As previewed here, a community discussion with city reps about possible parking restrictions on 16th SW is being hosted by South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor), 5:30 pm in Cascade Hall.

FIX-IT WORKSHOP: Repair your broken item instead of throwing it out! Weekly event, free (donations appreciated), 5:30-7:30 pm at West Seattle Tool Library (4408 Delridge Way SW, northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center).

PIANO NIGHT: 6 pm, monthly piano night at Upwell Wine & Coffee (4811 California SW).

‘LET’S TALK ABOUT THE S–T WE’RE PRETENDING IS FINE’: That’s the topic as a new women’s group called The Commwell convenes, 6 pm. (5446 California SW)

POTTERINGS OPEN STUDIO: 6-8 pm, drop in and create at this cozy pottery studio. (3400 Harbor SW)

CLASSIC SF BOOK CLUB: This month’s book is “On the Beach“ by Nevil Shute. Come to Paper Boat Booksellers (4522 California SW; WSB sponsor) to talk about it, 6 pm.

WEST SEATTLE URBANISM: You’re invited to this 6 pm meetup at Great American Diner/Bar (4752 California SW).

CRIBBAGE NIGHT AT THE EAGLES: Wednesdays at 6 pm are cribbage-tournament nights, all welcome, membership not required. (4426 California SW)

KUNDALINI YOGA – NEW TIME: Now at 6 pm at Inner Alchemy Studio/Sanctuary (3618 SW Alaska). $35.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RUN: Get moving at midweek on the weekly 6:15 pm group run with West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) tonight – all welcome, regardless of what pace you run at!

LIVE MUSIC AT THE LOCOL: 6:30 pm. 21+. Rotating performer lineup. (7902 35th SW)

ALKI COMMUNITY CHOIR OPEN REHEARSALS: “From seasoned vocalists to shower divas,” everyone’s welcome to sing with this choir at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds), 7 pm.

MUSIC BINGO: Weekly music bingo at at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7 pm.

TRIVIA x 5: Five West Seattle trivia venues on our Wednesday list: at Future Primitive Beach Bar (2536 Alki SW), 7 pm, free to play … 7 pm at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), free to play … Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) has Wednesday trivia at 7:30 pm … Quiz Night starts at 8 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW) … and at 8:30 pm, it’s trivia with Phil T at Talarico’s (4718 California SW), all ages until 10 pm.

SKYLARK OPEN MIC: West Seattle’s longest-running open mic! 7:30 pm signups for the weekly event at The Skylark. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

KARAOKE AT ADMIRAL PUB: Sing at the pub starting at 8:45 pm, after trivia. (2306 California SW)

Planning something that’s open to community participation/observation? Please send us info so we can add it to West Seattle’s only comprehensive event calendar! westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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