Seattle Mariners did the right thing, finally
Chris Phillips
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Perspective
Maybe the most comical and classic Mariners part of all of this is that Mather did this all within the confines of a casual chat with the Rotary Club. It wasn’t like Mather was on trial or under fire. He offered all of this up freely. It’s hard to imagine what Kevin Mather might have said if he was under oath in court.
Certainly, because of Mather, everyone got a look inside the inner thoughts of how big-league clubs think. Surely, all organizations don’t think and operate as Mather and the Mariners. But more than fans would like to believe. Many others, to some degree, may also operate in a similar manner.
Even worse for MLB, Mather made his comments in the same year that the current collective bargaining agreement expires. MLB Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark just received a reload of ammunition needed to battle Rob Manfred.
Thank you Kevin Mather. I sincerely mean it. You just said what everyone already knew, but now we @MLB_PLAYERS have official evidence that is going to help a lot of players. Again, thank you!! Bravo👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
— Josh Donaldson (@BringerOfRain20) February 23, 2021
It was a sad day for the MLB and the Mariners. It’s an even sadder day for everyone that feels hurt and victimized from Mather’s words. Baseball is entertainment and a distraction from the real world. Sports are an opportunity for fans to put their troubles aside for a few hours. Enjoying a kids game played at the highest level by the very best. Mather’s words took that away.
While this season was set a-buzz with hope, enjoyment, and prosperity, all of that was trampled by Mather. The pleasure of watching the young players getting the call-up and helping the Mariners end their playoff drought has come crashing down. The voices saying, “We trade our best players away for prospects. This team is pathetic to watch.” grow louder as the fear of possibly losing the young generational talent now looms in the background like the ominous grim reaper.
The Major League Baseball Players Association today issued the following statement with regard to recent remarks made by Seattle Mariners President and CEO Kevin Mather: pic.twitter.com/xjqqUmBqbS
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) February 22, 2021
This is a sad time for all affected by the cruel words of an arrogant bigot.