The Seattle Mariners made a bit of a surprise hire back in October when they brought in Scott Servais to be the manager of the club. It was rather obvious from the start of this offseason that ex-manager Lloyd McClendon was going to lose his job. New GM Jerry Dipoto’s previous experience with the Los Angeles Angels, where he inherited manager Mike Scioscia and completely butted heads with him, guaranteed that a new manager who had the same views would take over for McClendon. Servais definitely has the same views as Dipoto, but unfortunately that is about it for upside.
The major flaw in hiring Servais is that he has never managed a team in his life. His experience with baseball after his playing career is limited to front office jobs, peaking as Dipoto’s assistant GM in Los Angeles. He was a catcher in MLB for over 10 years, and this has been the easiest position from which to make the transition to manager in recent years. The real reason Servais got the job is because of his relationship with Dipoto. They previously played together for the Colorado Rockies in 2000 as well. If Dipoto was looking for someone he already knew well, Tim Bogar should have been the obvious choice.
Bogar has the major league managing experience, taking over after Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington stepped down in 2014. He also has experience as a first base coach, third base coach, bench coach and minor league manager. Dipoto and Bogar are good friends as well, playing together with the New York Mets for two years. Bogar already has some connections with the Mariners also, coaching Leonys Martin and Luis Sardinas while with the Rangers.
The list of managers Bogar has coached under is quite impressive as well, with names like Joe Maddon, Washington and Terry Francona on his resume as mentors. His philosophy fits Dipoto’s, as he leans towards analytics and sabermetrics rather than the eye test. It has served him well in the past, getting praise from pretty much everyone he has worked with as well as winning multiple minor league manager of the year awards.
Bogar’s name was at the top of a list that included Servais, Bud Black and Jason Varitek (another catcher with no managing experience), but somehow when it came time to announce the new manager, Varitek declined and Servais was given the job.
Bogar accepting the bench coach position was a surprise considering he is well past that position with his background. This should help Servais, but it is only a matter of time before another team steps up and gives Bogar a full-time gig as a manager. He has already had coaching jobs with the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, the Rangers and now the Mariners, so it’s only a matter of time before he is given another opportunity. Servais has the manager job for at least a couple of seasons, but Bogar will be long gone by the time the Mariners realize they made a mistake in not giving him that position.
