As far as Seattle Mariners fans were concerned at the outset of 2025, Dan Wilson winning the AL Manager of the Year was such an extreme best-case scenario that it was barely worth thinking about. And to this end, at least, perhaps nobody should be disappointed that he missed out on Tuesday.
He earned his shot, though, and he came reasonably close to beating his fellow finalists for the award. Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians ended up winning his second straight AL Manager of the Year, beating Wilson and Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Schneider in a tight race.
We’re obviously all about the Mariners here, but this is one of those results that’s hard to get mad at. Vogt led the Guardians to an all-time comeback to win the AL Central, and this was after two events that should have made it impossible: the front office selling at the deadline and two pitchers getting placed on leave as part of a wagering scandal that has since blown up.
It’s now up to Cal Raleigh to bring home a major award for the Mariners, and we’ll know about that when the AL MVP is announced on Thursday. As for Wilson, the only thing he can do now is further commit himself to carry out what was already the goal for 2026: more of the same, but better.
Mariners have more unfinished business for 2026 after Dan Wilson’s Manager of the Year snub
This year’s Mariners won 90 games and captured their first AL West title since 2001, when Wilson was the primary catcher for a squad that won 116 games. And even if it’s easier to trace the success of this team back to stars like Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Bryan Woo, all the available evidence suggests that Wilson was the right guy at the right place at the right time.
When the Mariners fired Scott Servais in August of 2024, Jerry Dipoto’s public rationale was that the clubhouse needed a new voice. Wilson at least promised to be a familiar voice after so many years in and around the organization, and what he immediately seemed to grasp is that he had taken over a group of players that didn’t need to be told what it should be.
As with most things managers do, Wilson’s handle on the Mariners’ clubhouse is impossible to quantify. Yet the proof was in the pudding by the end. The Mariners had strong vibes all year, and they only got better after Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez had their talent and determination added to the mix at the trade deadline.
Even then, though, Wilson still had to guide the team through adverse waters. Whereas major injuries to George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Victor Robles held the team back early in the year, the Mariners just plain didn’t get the offense they expected amid a 6-15 stretch in August and September. In both cases, the threats fizzled as the team just barreled on.
Of course, the one thing Wilson never really grasped throughout the regular season was ultimately the Mariners’ undoing. His in-game strategy was never great, and it finally blew up in his face in Game 7 of the ALCS. We all know what happened.
Still, the hope must be that Wilson’s strategic blunders prove to be a kind of exposure therapy. Just as children learn they’ll get burned if they touch a hot stove, he should now know better than to do things like, say, give Randy Arozarena too much leash at leadoff or to use Eduard Bazardo over Andrés Muñoz in a high-leverage spot where a strikeout is desperately needed.
If so, it’s hard to imagine Wilson being a worse manager in 2026. And when the standard is “Manager of the Year finalist,” everyone has every reason to get excited about the prospect of him getting even better.
