Getting obsessed with the Seattle Mariners rebuild
Justin Dunn, Seattle Mariners.
Obsession Sets In
As a loyal fan, you search box scores, read scouting reports, and watch the development of players named Justus Sheffield, Cal Raleigh, Logan Gilbert, Justin Dunn, and Julio Rodriguez. Daily, you scour the internet for anything that shows you the development of Seattle’s young players. You have searched prospect specific websites for more information about the success of each of these prospects. This became more important than anything at the big-league level. You actually care about the box scores of Minor League, Winter League, and International baseball games.
#Mariners introducing RHP Logan Gilbert, their top draft pick, for the first time. pic.twitter.com/8IzgXaVeKO
— TJ Cotterill (@TJCotterill) June 16, 2018
As you gain more information, you distance yourself from the naysayers. So you steer clear of those fans with a win-now-at-all-costs mentality. Without Jerry asking you to, you have jumped on board the “Rebuild Train.” Now you are obsessed with it. Why? You know this time it’s different. It feels different. As a fan base, we’ve never experienced something like this.
Is the Rebuild New for the Mariners?
The Mariners haven’t fully committed to rebuilding since the 116 win season, until now. As Jason A. Churchill from Prospect Insider put it “In the minds of the frustrated, Dipoto’s statement reaffirmed their long-held belief the Mariners have been in a perpetual rebuild for two decades. That is a myth.”
Every year the Mariners tried to reload. This resulted in suffering through a recipe of mediocrity wrapped in constant failure. To get past this rut of mediocrity, a team has to overspend or rebuild. Option 1 wasn’t working. The Seattle Mariners tied themselves to several large overpriced contracts that didn’t work. Then Dipoto changed the trajectory of the ripples. He threw rocks.