Mariners fans hope new hitting approach finally conquers T-Mobile Park

Kevin Seitzer is here to help.
Seattle Mariners Photo Day
Seattle Mariners Photo Day | Steph Chambers/GettyImages

"Home, sweet home" has been less of a motto and more of a mockery for Seattle Mariner hitters over the years. 

Whatever you choose to blame – the much-maligned marine layer, the off-kilter batter’s eye, cold weather, or the spirit of Milton Bradley laying a curse upon the outfield – it’s clear that the Mariners have a Seattle problem. 

The numbers paint a picture, and it's not pretty

In 2024, the Mariners finished with a sOPS+ of 101 on the road, just above the league average, but a measly home sOPS+ of 86. They struck out 795 times on the road compared to 830 times at home, and hit for a .234 average away from Seattle — which feels Joe DiMaggio-esque when compared to the .214 average they posted in T-Mobile Park, the worst home average in baseball by a longshot. 

In 2023, the contrast was equally stark. That season, the Mariners finished sixth in MLB in road OPS. But in their own backyard? Just 24th. In 2022, they were eighth on the road compared to 22nd at home. 2021, 17th on the road, dead last at home. You get the idea. 

Of course, the offensive vortex that is T-Mobile Park doesn’t just go in one direction; certainly Logan Gilbert and company enjoy chewing up 200-plus innings in the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the league. 

But for a restless fanbase perpetually fed up with the lack of investment in the lineup, hot dogs from Heaven won’t be enough to satisfy their appetite for offense at the ballpark. 

The Mariners offense has a secret weapon

Enter Kevin Seitzer. 

The Mariners’ new hitting coach hopes to come to the rescue, with the mission to manufacture more runs in the Emerald City. Seitzer’s previous stop was as the Atlanta Braves’ hitting coach from 2015-2024, where he mentored young superstars such as Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, and Ronald Acuña Jr. Seattle will provide Seitzer with a different challenge. 

An article by Mike Petriello of MLB.com explaining that Seattle, not Colorado, is MLB’s most extreme ballpark examines historical grievances of hitting in Seattle, and airs out past lamentations from Ichiro Suzuki, Mike Cameron, Alex Rodriguez, and Edgar Martínez about the difficulty of hitting in the ballpark. If those players are complaining, then park factors at T-Mobile start to feel less like an inconvenience and more akin to Sisyphus rolling his rock uphill.

But in a quote provided via Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Seitzer shrugged off the difficulty of hitting in Seattle.

“You have to embrace where you play [your home games],” Seitzer said. “When it is the way it is, we’ve just got to focus more on low line drives – just making solid contact and not worrying about balls that we crush that should be homers and get caught. There’s nothing we can do about it. But as long as we’re squaring balls up, having good at-bats and putting the fat part of the bat on the ball consistently, that’s all you can do.”

Easier said than done, but the Mariners have reason for optimism. Under a new hitting blueprint which began in August, when Dan Wilson took over as manager and Martínez took over hitting coach duties, the Mariners resurrected their offense and made a late season push. 

Martínez and Seitzer echo each other in philosophy — simplify the approach, make contact with low line drives, and spray the ball to all areas of the field. The Mariners had the third-best wRC+ in baseball throughout the final 34 games of last season, and scored the most runs in the American League in that span. At T-Mobile Park, the Mariners’ xwOBA was vaulted from .306 before the leadership change to a .328 xwOBA after it. 

It’s not easy to hit in Seattle. It’s also not impossible. And if the Mariners can get around to hitting on March 27 this year instead of August 24, fans will be treated to more than just those free hot dogs on a trip to the ballpark.

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