Why ESPN's Olney buys Edgar's impact on Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners have been a different team offensively this season, but the improvements at the plate can be traced back to last season.

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In a recent post on social media, ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney pointed out the Mariners’ offensive prowess dating back to the final two months of last season. In 82 games from Aug. 1, 2024, through Thursday, the M’s produced the following AL rankings:

• Second in runs (397)
• Second in home runs (105)
• Second in stolen bases (91)
• Second in walk rate (10.7%)
• Second in WRC+ (118)

Olney joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Friday to discuss the Mariners, and he shared what he thinks has keyed the club’s recent offensive success.

“I think the one common denominator, it’s not perfectly all the way through, is Edgar Martinez,” Olney said.

Martinez, a Baseball Hall of Fame member and six-time All-Star, was brought on as the hitting coach on Aug. 23 last season alongside manager Dan Wilson following the dismissal of longtime skipper Scott Servais. After Martinez and Wilson arrived, the M’s got out of a tailspin and won 21 of their final 34 games with a noticeably improved offense. Martinez moved into a role as the organization’s senior director of hitting strategy over the offseason and was replaced on the bench by former Atlanta Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who brought assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes with him.

“Part of the reason why I went back and looked at those numbers was because just talking with people about Edgar’s impact as a hitting coach for the Mariners, I think it’s real,” Olney said. “Sometimes guys come in and they’re a pitching coach or they’re a hitting coach and they don’t have much impact, but I think Edgar’s had a real impact. He was hired on Aug. 23, so the vast majority (64) of those 82 games were under his tutelage.”

Olney revealed he had some bias sway his belief in Martinez’s impact on the Mainers offense due to conversations he had with former Mariners star shortstop Alex Rodriguez when they worked together on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.

“He would tell me stories, Alex would, about after the Mariners would finish a series, getting on the team plane, and Edgar would be in the back and he’d be sipping some wine, and Alex would go back there and ask him all kinds of questions about hitting. … Alex told me about how Edgar has this beautiful ability to simplify everything that he’s talking about, and Alex would pepper him with questions for an hour, for two hours, and finally Edgar would chase him back to the front of the plane.”

Olney said he’s heard Martinez’s way of communicating is also connecting with this group of Mariners.

“The idea that the Mariners for basically half a season would be second in runs while playing in their home ballpark, which everyone knows offensive numbers are generally going to be depressed, that’s pretty impressive. And I’m going to say I think it’s in part because of Edgar Martinez.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Why ESPN’s Olney buys Edgar’s impact on Seattle Mariners

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