Beloved former Mariners manager has high praise for Dan Wilson

Dan Wilson is off to a good start in his newest adventure as the full-time manager of the Seattle Mariners. In what seemed like the same ol' same ol' for the Mariners in his first game, the team was lifeless until a massive late rally and extra-innings win. They ended up winning the series, and Wilson and crew couldn't have hoped for much more in their first series with him running the show.

Lou Pinella thinks Dan Wilson is a great choice to lead the Mariners

If you ask Lou Pinella, it was a long time coming. Sweet Lou led the Mariners for 10 seasons, amassing the most wins in team history. Dan Wilson was also his catcher the entire time that Lou was with the Mariners, so they are quite familiar with each other. If you ask Lou, Wilson should've been given a chance a long time ago.

“I love it... I think he’ll be good. He’s well-liked, he’s going to be respected, and I think he’s got a good head for it... I told the Mariner organization eight years ago, ‘If I owned the team and I had anything to do with it, Danny Wilson would be my manager... And Edgar Martinez would be my hitting coach, and Jay Buhner would be my bench coach or my third base coach.”

It's great to see Lou backing Wilson. A lot of the time, you'll see the "old heads" in a sport talk down about someone jumping in to the game. Whether it's inexperience, a bad relationship, or them just being a curmudgeon. In this case, Pinella thinks Wilson and his leadership is going to get the job done in Seattle.

Every once in a while, you see someone jump in that seems like they are unqualified for the job who finds success. Wilson has been around the team for quite a while, essentially sticking around ever since he retired in a multiude of roles. The players are familiar with him, he's got a long career of playing under his belt, and now he has the support and stamp of approval from an all-time great (who should be in the Hall of Fame).