Mariners president Kevin Mather apologizes for comments

Seattle Mariners CEO and team president Kevin Mather apologized late Sunday night for comments made during a recent online event where he expressed opinions about organizational strategy, personnel moves and club finances.

Mather’s comments came in a speech to the Bellevue, Washington, Breakfast Rotary Club on Feb. 5 and were posted online over the weekend.

“I want to apologize to every member of the Seattle Mariners organization, especially our players and to our fans. There is no excuse for my behavior, and I take full responsibility for my terrible lapse in judgment,” Mather’s statement said. “My comments were my own. They do not reflect the views and strategy of the Mariners baseball leadership who are responsible for decisions about the development and status of the players at all levels of the organization.”

Mather continued, saying he’d been on the phone most of the day Sunday apologizing after the video was posted to YouTube and quickly drew attention on social media.

The Mariners are expected to release a statement Monday.

“I am committed to make amends for the things I said that were personally hurtful and I will do whatever it takes to repair the damage I have caused to the Seattle Mariners organization,” Mather said.

The video posted by the Rotary group was 46 minutes long and touched on areas of the Mariners' organizational situation going into the 2021 season — many of which Seattle’s front office would rather not be made public.

Mather addressed the team’s payroll and watching the financial bottom line. He said he believed top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert likely will not start the season with the team as a way to manipulate their major league service time and keep them under club control longer.

Mather said the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Mariners-president-Kevin-Mather-apologizes-for-15968549.php