The Seattle Mariners are still built around a familiar idea: control the zone. That mantra has lived in the organization for a decade, and it keeps showing up everywhere, from major leaguers like Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller to minor leaguers such as Mason Peters, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan. The message is clear in the system, and it is not subtle.
But the results from the hitters have started to raise a bigger question.
The Mariners are chasing at the fifth-highest rate in baseball, according to Luke Arkins on social media, and that chase rate has climbed each month. Instead of forcing pitchers into the kinds of counts Seattle preaches, the lineup has too often been expanding the zone and helping pitchers get the easy outs they want. That is the exact opposite of the philosophy the club has spent years selling.
There are a couple of possible reasons for the disconnect. One is that the organizational teaching may not translate the same way once players reach Seattle.
The rotation is loaded with homegrown arms, but much of the lineup is not. JP Crawford fits the mold, and Cole Young does too.
Colt Emerson chases plenty, though he is still young enough that there is room to grow. Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez are also homegrown Mariners, but the longer they move away from the minor league environment, the more chase-happy they seem to become.
Then there are the hitters who arrived with their own backgrounds and habits: Randy Arozarena, Victor Robles, Luke Raley and Josh Naylor. They are only examples, but they raise the obvious question of whether outside additions are buying into the system, adapting to it, or simply being coached differently at the major league level than they were in the minors.
The game itself may also be part of the problem. As recently discussed with M’s broadcaster Angie Mentink, there is no longer really such thing as a fastball count.
A few years ago, getting to 2-0 or 3-1 often meant a hittable heater was coming. That is not the case now.
Pitchers are willing to throw offspeed stuff in any count, and that has taken away the old reward for controlling the zone. Mariners hitters, in turn, seem to be swinging early at the first pitch they think they can handle - and too often, that has led to them getting themselves out.
The question remains open: what happened to the Mariners’ hitting philosophy?
The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose Territory” podcast is out now, with Seattle Sports 710 host Brock Huard discussing the frustration of this season, his conversation with Alex Rodriguez, Kyle Seager’s decision not to attend the ceremony this weekend, and more.
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