SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 03: A general view during the game between the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals at T-Mobile Park on July 03, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)Seattle Mariners president and CEO Kevin Mather resigned from his position Monday afternoon.
Mather recently made disparaging comments about several Mariners players, including a player from Japan and another the Dominican Republic, during a recent chat with a local Rotary Club.
“Over the course of a 45-minute chat to a local Rotary Club in early February, Seattle Mariners CEO Kevin Mather disparaged a Japanese player for not learning English, belittled a star prospect from the Dominican Republic for his language skills and derided another top prospect while admitting to manipulating his service time,” wrote MLB insider Jeff Passan, via ESPN.com. “He called his team’s best pitcher “very boring” and embellished the pitcher’s actions in a clubhouse incident, told another falsehood about a well-respected veteran and complained that the franchise’s best player over the past decade was ‘overpaid.'”
Seattle released a statement Monday afternoon to announce Mather’s resignation. In it, Mariners chairman John Stanton called Mather’s words “inappropriate.”
“Like all of you, I was extremely disappointed when I learned of Kevin Mather’s recent comments,” wrote Stanton. “His comments were inappropriate and do not represent our organization’s feelings about our players, staff, and fans. … Kevin Mather has resigned his position effective immediately. I want to thank Kevin for his 25 years of service to our franchise.”
Take a look at the Mariners’ full statement below.
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 22, 2021
This was the only appropriate course of action for Seattle to take. Kevin Mather has no place in Major League Baseball.
The Mariners, meanwhile, will now seek a new team president and CEO. Stanton will serve in that role until Mather’s successor is chosen.
