Jack Zduriencik Era Begins In Seattle
By Dan Hughes
This day in Seattle Mariners history takes us to 2008 as the Mariners hired Jack Zduriencik to be the 8th general manager in the franchise’s history.
Zduriencik was the first non-GM in Major League Baseball history to win the Executive of the Year award when it was awarded to him following the 2007 season while with the Milwaukee Brewers.
A minor league player in the 1970’s, Zduriencik tried his hand at coaching before moving into several off the field roles. According to Jack’s Wikipedia page, Zduriencik spent time in the following positions prior to coming to Seattle:
- Area Scout, 1983 to 1989, New York Mets
- National Crosschecker, 1990 and 1994 to 1995, New York Mets
- Director of Scouting, 1991 to 1993, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Director of Minor League Operations, 1995 to 1998, New York Mets
- Special Assistant to the General Manager, 1998, New York Mets
- Director of International Operations, 1998 to 1999, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Director of Scouting, 1999 to 2006, Milwaukee Brewers
- Special Assistant to the General Manager, 2006 to 2008, Milwaukee Brewers
- Director of Amateur Scouting, 2006 to 2008. Milwaukee Brewers
- Special Assistant to the GM for Player Personnel, 2008, Milwaukee Brewers.
Zduriencik’s first actions were hiring Don Wakamatsu as manager of the club, trading for Franklin Gutierrez, Mike Carp and Endy Chavez as well as signing Ken Griffey Jr to a one-year deal.
Trader Jack signed a multi-year contract extension in August of this year, following the successful turnaround the Mariners enjoyed in 2014.
Also of note- on this day in 2007, Washington state native Mel Stottlemyre was hired as the Mariners pitching coach. He lasted just the one season in that role with Seattle.
Tomorrow, with all of the talk about the World Series being the first trip for the Royals since 1985, we’ll take a look back at something else that happened in 1985.