Cole Young's Gold Glove nod takes awkward turn for Mariners with Perry Hill's shoutout

There were plenty of uncomfortable moments for the Mariners this season, including Luis Castillo being kept in the rotation even though it was clear he was no longer good enough. And firing hitting coach Bobby Magallenes during July, when it was obvious that the offensive issues went far deeper than him. However, if anyone believed (or hoped) the end of the M's disastrous 2026 campaign would also signal the end of such awkwardness, this isn't exactly the case.

On the face of it, Wednesday's announcement that Cole Young had been selected as a finalist for a 2026 AL Gold Glove Award was a positive, and well-deserved. After all, he finished first among all AL second basemen in a number of relevant categories, including defensive runs saved (16), fielding percentage (.990), assists (397), putouts (223) and overall defensive bWAR (2.3). However, it's the cause behind his defensive transformation which makes things slightly awkward.

As per an article by Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, Young credits his defensive transformations to long-time infield coach Perry Hill: "I've grown so much as a player because of him. He taught me how important defense is and how it can change games -- and how it can literally win games."

Mariners not showing as much love to Perry Hill as Cole Young is

This is obviously a nice shoutout by Young, and it speaks volumes about what Hill means to him and his development at second base.

Unfortunately though, the 74-year-old was fired by the Mariners at the conclusion of the 2026 regular season, as part of a mass coaching clear out by Jerry Dipoto. Not that this stopped Hill from going on social media to give his own shoutout back to Young:

Certainly it's a shame that Hill was one of those who paid the price for the Mariners' disastrous season. He had been with the team since the 2019 campaign and was one of the more respected people in the clubhouse, with Young just being the latest of several players to credit him for their defensive development. As per Brandon Gustafson of Seattle Sports, J.P. Crawford previously said Hill saved his Major League career and helped him win his Gold Glove back in 2020.

At the same time, as much as Hill had built up a well-deserved reputation over the years as a top infield coach, he wasn't blameless for the Mariners' poor 2026 season. The reality is that the infield defense did deteriorate under his watch. Arguably the most damning evidence of this was the infield ranking dead last in the majors, with a -39 Outs Above Average.

Obviously we wish Hill all the best for the future whatever he ends up doing, but we can at least objectively understand why Dipoto did what he did. Still, if Young does end up winning a Gold Glove, don't be surprised if he gives Hill another shoutout when thanking people for the award. And any resulting awkwardness felt within the Mariners organization would be entirely fitting, and in keeping with what has been an uncomfortable year all around in Seattle.

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