Dominic Canzone's slow-burn rise to Mariners stardom has caught even fans off guard

Part of being a sports fan involves having an irrational dislike towards certain professional athletes, even ones who play for the team you support. Step forward Dominic Canzone, who must be used to being on the receiving end of negativity from certain segments of the Mariners fanbase. Now though, the tide seems to finally be turning.

Canzone was on the back foot almost as soon as he arrived in Seattle, just by virtue of being part of the controversial trade which sent the popular Paul Sewald to Arizona at the 2023 deadline. It didn't help that he carried himself as if he'd already made it, even though he couldn't transfer his success in Triple-A to the majors.

Then came last year, when Canzone had a breakout campaign for the Mariners and set several career-highs including a .300/.358/.481 slash line, .840 OPS and 140 OPS+ in 82 games. Still -- whether as a result of legitimate reasons or just pure stubbornness -- the doubters remained.

Dominic Canzone's looking good again, but is he destined to fade?

Critics pointed out that Canzone faded when it mattered most by going just 3-for-28 during the playoffs, while others wanted to see if he could replicate his success over a full season. Well, he's off to a tremendous start this season, but still, there are those who expect him to hit a wall - - that while his productivity is certainly nice, it's doomed to run out at some point.

The thing is, while not everyone within the Mariners fanbase is all-in on Canzone, the reality is he's just not stopping. Since June 9 of last year he's 12th among left-handed hitters with a 139 wRC+, just behind a certain Bryce Harper with a 141 wRC+.

It helps that the Mariners are putting Canzone in the best position to succeed, as a strict platoon bat who doesn't even have to really play in the field anymore. That success continued in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night in Houston, as he broke open a close ballgame by hitting the first grand slam of his Major League career:

In a season when the likes of Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor have struggled for consistency, Canzone's continued success has been invaluable (and underrated) for the lineup. And even though his batting average and OPS are down from last season, if you look under the hood he's had improved results in certain areas:

You can also throw in that Canzone's 49.2 percent hard-hit rate is not much below his career-high 49.7 percent from last season. The point is that we're now at a stage where it might be time for the critics to back off and just accept he's a late developer who's finally showing what he's capable of.

Of course we fully accept that naysayers will continue to exist no matter what, such is the passionate and emotional world of professional sports. However, surely this has to be one of those occasions when even they will be happy to see Canzone continue to succeed as it benefits the Mariners, right... right?!?!

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow