Dan Wilson leans into comfy clichés in face of Mariners World Series pressure

Heading into his second full year as the manager of the Seattle Mariners, one thing we've already learned about Dan Wilson in 2026 is that he still doesn't know how to give a good quote.

This can, on occasion, be a bad thing. Look no further than how he defended his bad-from-the-start pitching change in Game 7 of the ALCS last year, which might as well have been a shrug: “You make your decisions, and sometimes you have to live and die with it."

There was no wisdom there. Just Wilson exuding calm at a moment that didn't really call for it. It was him sticking to his guns as the rock in the Mariners' clubhouse, which apparently requires keeping his emotions firmly in his holsters.

For the most part, though, that's a good thing. And that perhaps especially goes for right now, at a moment when a little humility doesn't exactly hurt in the face of relentless talk of the Mariners finally going to the World Series.

Dan Wilson keeps it simple in prepping the Mariners for the 2026 season

With spring training now in full swing, Wilson addressed over 100 players and staffers for the Mariners' first team meeting of the year in Peoria on Tuesday. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times was there to catch a quote, and it's about as Wilson-ian as you'd expect.

“You can’t get to the World Series with any kind of shortcut, and I think that’s the message today,” said the 56-year-old skipper during a media session earlier on Tuesday, adding: "It all boils down, really, to the same thing, and that’s staying present in the moment and controlling the things you can control and getting prepared.”

It's not quite "one day at a time" or "one step at a time," but that's more or less the vibe here. And that's fine.

Indeed, this is Wilson at his finest. He got the job in August of 2024 because the Mariners simply needed a different center of gravity in the clubhouse, and it didn't take long for the effect to become clear. It was out with the maelstrom and in with calm seas.

As Jude reported in May of 2025, what had been confusing and often frustrating atmosphere under Scott Servais instantly changed under Wilson. His approach was more about player empowerment, wherein the players could power the engines while Wilson steers the proverbial ship.

So it goes in 2026. While Wilson is still out there preaching focus and consistency, the players are making it clear that returning to the playoffs — it's "addicting," says Julio Rodríguez — and going to the World Series is the goal, not the hope.

“We want to be a perennial (contender), where making the playoffs is just an afterthought in a way. We want to be there every year,” Cal Raleigh said, per Jude. “We want to be competing for World Series, winning World Series, and that’s the expectation we want to have.”

This stuff makes for better sound bites, and this is a rare moment in Mariners history in which they aren't overblown. The club proved itself as a World Series contender in 2025, and its projections for 2026 are, if anything, too bullish.

Given how last year ended, there remains a nagging sense that the Mariners could win because of Wilson until, suddenly, they lose because of him, too. Suffice it to say his lineup decisions and pitching changes were a source of consternation among Mariners fans long before ALCS Game 7.

But whereas it should be possible to learn strategy, how to set a tone in a clubhouse feels like one of those things you just have to know. And on that front, at least, Wilson is still the right guy in the right place at the right time.