Seattle, WA

Seattle Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto apologizes, clarifies — what he said

Published

1 year ago

October 5, 2023

Seattle Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto apologizes, clarifies — what he said

The Seattle Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk for his weekly show on Thursday, and the team’s president of baseball operations immediately addressed comments that he made during an end-of-season press conference Tuesday that did not land well with the Mariners’ fan base after missing the playoffs in 2023.

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Two quotes in particular from Tuesday have been the center of the controversy.

Here is exactly what Dipoto said on Thursday in response to questions from hosts Mike Salk and Brock Huard about those two quotes.

Question 1

• Tuesday’s quote: “I can’t tell you what year we’re going to win the World Series. I can tell you that if we win 54% of our games over the course of a decade, you’re going to play in the World Series.”

• Dipoto on Thursday:

First, I’d like to say I’m generally embarrassed by by the way at least that comment and especially one other was received. You know, I’ve been doing this job or roles like this for a long time now, and I’ve made mistakes, I’ve made my fair share like most do, and this was kind of one of those times. I just did a poor job of illustrating the points that I was trying to make, and in one case, I chose to try humor to lighten a grave question and obviously that wasn’t what the moment called for.
With this one, the 54%, you know, I just completely whiffed in my attempt to paint a big picture baseline of what obviously makes more sense to me than our fans and media. Our goal isn’t to be mediocre, our goal is to win championships and to play a high level for a long time, and that’s what I was trying to convey. Obviously, it didn’t help. I wish I could hit reset and try it again, but that moment’s gone. The best I can do is continue to try to be candid and accessible, and I feel like over my time here, we’ve done that – players, staff, all of our personnel.
We want our fans to feel like they’re part of the team, and at minimum have a front row seat to what’s happening. We tell them what we’re doing and then we do that thing. They may not always agree with it or like it, but we’re very candid in that way. I can assure everyone that we want to win. And the 54%, if you look back over the history of baseball – and I actually said this in the press conference, unfortunately it didn’t make it to the cuts – but if you look back over the history of baseball since the divisional format came to be in 1969, in decade-long segments, teams that averaged or achieve 54% win percentage over a 10-year period or greater, they tend to wind up in the World Series and consistent members of the postseason.
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You know, we’re not trying to win 54% of our games, we’re trying to win 100% of our games. The 54% is, if you reach that bar and you’re able to stay at or above that bar for a 10-year period, you’re going to play in a World Series. And I say that confidently because it’s true – 19 teams have been able to do that in decade-long increments, 19 different teams, and 16 of them have played in the World Series, and most, many, have won championships. That’s what I was trying to say, and it probably makes more sense to me, and for that I apologize.
We’re not trying to string you out, we’re not trying to ask people to wait another decade. The significance of that is, in this decade, that’s what we’re doing. From the start of the COVID summer in 2020, we have played at that level. We’ve reached one postseason, we hope to reach many more, but we do it in a process-oriented way, and obviously I did a poor job of trying to convey that thought – and I feel badly about it.

Question 2

• Tuesday’s quote: “We’re actually doing the fan base a favor in asking for their patience to win the World Series while we continue to build a sustainably good roster.”

• Dipoto on Thursday:

I was trying to use a little bit of humor. The question that I was asked was regarding the addition of big stars, and what do you tell your fan base if you don’t deliver the big star, and when does the World Series come? And the simple answer to that is adding a big star is much easier when you develop the big star, and we’ll look at our center fielder (Julio Rodríguez) as an example, or the longtime great center fielder for the Mariners in Ken Griffey Jr.
Acquiring a big star from outside is also contingent on the big star, so I can’t guarantee you when that will happen. And I also have been involved in professional baseball all my life, and to think that you’re going to predict (when) we will win the World Series is silly. You’re not gonna be able to do that. All we can do is continue to execute sound process and build a roster that is good enough to go compete with the best teams in the league.
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While none of us is happy that we’re sitting here at home (during the playoffs), and that’s how I opened up the comments on Tuesday, we feel proud of what we’ve built over time. We do feel like that this roster is built to be a championship roster moving forward, and now we need to go out and we need to add more pieces and find the extra offense. Find a way to solve some of our needs, but recognize that we continue to get better in a lot of ways.
You know, I tried to use humor to defuse the situation, and I whiffed. Clearly I’m not a very funny person and I shouldn’t have gone there, but that’s what I did and I can only apologize and again tell you that I’m embarrassed by it.

You can hear the full Jerry Dipoto Show from Thursday in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.

More on the Seattle Mariners

•Salk on comments by Seattle Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto: Fans want a banner, not a favor
• Drayer’s Notebook: Reaction to what Cal said, injury updates
• Remembering sportswriting great Jim Caple – By Christian Caple
• Four Takes: Reaction to Mariners player comments after missing playoffs
• Drayer: Raleigh makes strong statement after Seattle Mariners fall short

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Seattle, WA

State ferries: A better idea from Nordic countries

Published

5 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

State ferries: A better idea from Nordic countries

Re: “Diesel or hybrid ferries? How about simply reliable” (Jan. 7, Opinion): Gov. Jay Inslee, Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson and The Seattle Times editorial board are asking the wrong question: diesel or hybrid ferries? Inslee and the majority of Democrats support…

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Seattle, WA

Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect

Published

14 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect

Manuhunt underway for Mason County assault suspect

Mason County deputies are looking for a man wanted in a shooting in Belfair on Monday.

MASON COUNTY, Wash. – The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for a convicted felon wanted in a recent shooting.

The sheriff’s office says Michael Allen Beyer is wanted for first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Deputies believe Beyer was involved in a shooting that happened in Belfair on January 6.

Beyer is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach him and call 911 immediately.

Anyone with information regarding Beyer’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Helser at 360-427-9670 x657, or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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Seattle, WA

Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike

Published

22 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike

Two more Seattle restaurants are calling it quits thanks to the untenable minimum wage hike.

At the same time that the Seattle minimum wage rose from $19.97 an hour to $20.76 an hour, the city ended the tip credit of $2.72. Under the previous rules, restaurants were able to pay $17.25 hourly wage if their staff earned at least $2.72 in tips per hour. But as cost of business continues to skyrocket in Seattle, a minimum wage hike without a tip credit is simply untenable for many small businesses.

Jackson’s Catfish Corner in Seattle’s Central District closed its doors in this new year. In an interview with Converge Media, owner Terrell Jackson argued Seattle is too expensive to operate in.

“I know that the minimum wages went up to 20 bucks an hour … I know that’s hard for my business as a small Black business,” Jackson said. “I’m not Amazon or Walgreens or Walmart who can pay their employees that much.”

Jackson isn’t alone in his complaints.

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A second West Seattle eatery closes, citing the minimum wage hike

Bel Gatto, a bakery and café, became the second West Seattle eatery to close its doors over the Seattle minimum wage hike. The owner posted a sign to the front door to thank supporters but said she can’t afford to stay open anymore.

“Our revenues, unfortunately, are not able to cover the close to 20% increase in mandated wages, salaries and payroll taxes put into effect by the Seattle City Council effective 1/1/25. This ruling has made the continuation of our bakery operations untenable,” the sign read.

The owner, Peter Levy, explained to the West Seattle Blog that, “we were approaching close to a break even status in the last quarter of 2024, but the requirement to absorb another $4,000 per month in payroll expenses with the new mandate by the city put a break even further from our grasp which is what led to the closure.”

Last week, a video by Corina Luckenbach, owner of Bebop Waffle Shop in West Seattle, went viral as she said the minimum wage hike was forcing her to close after 11 years. She said she didn’t have an extra $32,000 a year to pay her staff what the city mandates.

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Will more restaurants close?

Ahead of the minimum wage hike, restauranteurs offered many warnings over what’s to come.

Ethan Stowell operates a number of Seattle’s top restaurants, including How to Cook a Wolf, Staple and Fancy, and Tavolata. He warned this change would be exceptionally costly for businesses in an industry notorious for razor-thin margins. And restaurants can’t merely raise menu prices again.

“I know everybody wants to say, ‘Just raise things (on the menu) a dollar or two,’ and that’s what it’ll be. That’s very simplified math. I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. This is a large increase that’s probably large enough to be equal to or close to what most restaurants in Seattle profit,” Stowell told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Portage Bay Cafe co-owner Amy Fair Gunnar noted the minimum wage change will cost her about $45,000 more a month. She said restaurants will have to “seriously change what they’re doing or they’re going to close their doors.”

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Ignoring the warnings, mocking the business people

The warnings from restaurant owners were mostly ignored or mocked.

Efforts by the Seattle City Council to address the forthcoming crisis fell apart after activists said they didn’t want restaurants to get an exception. Council president Sara Nelson told “The Jason Rantz Show” they will take up the issue again this year but there’s no specific idea yet to forward for legislation. The Mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, has been almost completely absent from the issue.

Left-wing voices, meanwhile, claim to not care. That if businesses “can’t afford to pay a living wage,” then they shouldn’t be in business.

One reporter with The Stranger mocked one of the closures, quipping on X, “Has anyone ever eaten at bebop waffle lol.” Left-wing Seattleites condemned the business for “creating a right wing media darling to complain about paying people a living wage.”

KING 5 reporter Maddie White helped elevate this talking point by citing the National Low Income Housing Coalition, claiming “the average renter needs to make upwards of $40 an hour to afford rent.” But she’s quoting a stat for two-bedrooms. Minimum wage jobs aren’t meant to cover the cost of a single person renting a two-bedroom home or apartment.

Ironically, as activists dismiss the concerns of small business owners, they fail to acknowledge the inevitable consequence: when those businesses shut down, people lose jobs. A $20.76 hourly minimum wage — even with a $2.72 tip credit — means nothing if you’re unemployed.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz

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