PEORIA, Ariz. — An anxious eagerness to get through the first of what will be many daily morning media sessions in spring training was evident in Dan Wilson.
After a busy offseason that flew by faster than expected, due largely to responsibilities of his new job as Mariners manager, Wilson was nervously excited for Thursday’s first official workout of 2025 spring training.
Wait, Wilson, who had participated in 16 MLB spring trainings as a player and more than that as a coach in the M’s farm system, was nervous for the first day?
“You know that stuff never goes away,” he said. “I remember as a young player, I asked Tim Belcher in Cincinnati about it. I said, ‘When do the butterflies go away?’ He said, ‘Never. And when they do go away, it’s time to get out of the game.’ He was right. You never don’t have butterflies, even from this role, from this vantage point. Everybody here has butterflies, but it’s the good kind.”
Well, it is a new role for him. And that inexperience was evident as he exited the media session for a team meeting, asking earnestly, “Wait, do I have to do this again this afternoon?”
No, that doesn’t happen until Cactus League games begin next Friday.
Wilson was unexpectedly thrust into his new role with 34 games remaining in the 2024 season after manager Scott Servais was fired.
With essentially six weeks remaining in the season and the team still trying to fight its way into the postseason, Wilson didn’t try to make major changes or dramatically shift how the team did things. He tried to implement some necessary changes, but really just tried to manage everything that accompanied a job he had never done.
“I keep telling people that the image of drinking through a fire hose is what it was like in September,” he said. “There was a lot coming at you at a quick rate.”
An offseason that still featured plenty of work, including filling out a coaching staff, evaluating the organization as a whole and determining his plan for 2025 went by quickly, but still offered time for reflection.
A feeling of ownership started to grow for Wilson. This was his team now. How did he want to run things? What needed to be the same? What definitely had to change?
“Being able to take a step back, having a little bit more time in the offseason to prepare was super helpful,” he said. “As you kind of step into it, you start from square one and start moving forward. And it does feel a lot better coming from that vantage point, as opposed to just jumping right into it at the end of the year.”
It’s a reason why Wilson spent a lot of time working at T-Mobile Park in the offseason. Living in Seattle, he decided to go to the office most days — something Servais did in recent years. For Wilson, he needed to be familiar with how everyone and everything worked and the various processes involved.
“The advantage is that when you live pretty close, it’s easy to get down there,” he said. “And I wanted to be down there as much as possible. I think just being around some of the baseball personnel, getting to know them even better, connecting with the coaching staff, connecting with the players, all of that is super important.”
The offseason doesn’t mean the communication turned off.
“We get together as family during a season and you build relationships,” Wilson said. “It’s important to continue to maintain those relationships even during the offseason. Also, there was a lot of work to do, (and) there continues to be a lot of work to get done in terms of where we want to go. That’s what the offseason is for.”
The relationship with his stalwart starting catcher, which was already strong, continued to grow.
Wilson and Cal Raleigh talked often during the offseason. The duo even worked out together in January when Raleigh was in Seattle visiting. For Wilson, communicating with Raleigh, one of the most vocal leaders on the field and in the clubhouse, is vital for gauging what is needed from the team. Wilson, who has worked developing catchers, has served as a confidant and mentor for Raleigh since he was drafted in 2018.
“He hasn’t changed one bit,” Raleigh said. “He’s still the same guy I’ve known since working with him in the minors. He brings a calmness.”
Raleigh understood what Thursday’s first workout meant for Wilson and why he had some butterflies.
“He’s been very excited to get going, and anxious,” Raleigh said. “I’ve had a few talks with him. It’s been good. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m excited for the energy he’s going to bring. You kind of already know how Dan is as a person, but getting to know him as a manager and guy to take over the ballclub, he’s going to bring some new ideas and new philosophies — little things here and there. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
While Wilson said the mechanics of spring training aren’t going to drastically change from years past under Servais, there will be some differences in philosophies.
“It’s not necessarily about the changes, but maybe some different outlooks on things,” Raleigh said. “It’s going to be his team. It’s going to be his philosophies, his way of thinking, his style of baseball. You’re going to see more of that this year, more so than I think last year, just because, it’s hard to do that in 30 games.”
Wilson wants to emphasize team success as the priority over individual success, doing what is necessary to help the team win every game is more important than a player’s own successes or struggles.
“There is more of a team orientation,” Raleigh said. “It’s just focus on the team, the team, the team, and obviously it’s harder to do in an individual sport like baseball. But focusing everything on the team and having everything revolve around the team is going to be huge for us.”
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