Mariners president and CEO Kevin Mather resigns after comments during Rotary Club call
Mariners president and chief executive officer Kevin Mather resigned his position Monday, effective immediately, according to a release from the club.
Mather’s resignation comes a day after footage of a Zoom call he spoke on earlier this month with the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club surfaced online.
During the recording, which was posted on YouTube last week and removed Sunday after it was widely shared on Twitter, Mather addressed several topics not often discussed publicly by clubs, prompting swift and severe backlash from its fan base.
He made several disparaging and obtuse comments about both current and former players in the organization — including top prospects like Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez, pitchers Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker, and veteran third baseman Kyle Seager, among others — while also going into detail about player contracts, service time manipulation and the club’s finances.
“Like all of you, I was extremely disappointed when I learned of Kevin Mather’s recent comments,” Mariners chairman and managing partner John Stanton said in a statement.
“His comments were inappropriate and do not represent our organization’s feelings about our players, staff, and fans.
“There is no excuse for what was said, and I won’t try to make one. I offer my sincere apology on behalf of the club and my partners to our players and fans. We must be, and do, better.
“We have a lot of work to do to make amends, and that work is already underway.
“Kevin Mather has resigned his position effective immediately. I want to thank Kevin for his 25 years of service to our franchise.
“I will serve as acting President and CEO until a successor can be chosen.
“Everyone at the Seattle Mariners remains committed to our mission of winning on the field and serving our fans and communities off the field. We will demonstrate that commitment through our actions.”
Stanton further addressed Mather’s comments during a 30-minute video call with the press Monday afternoon.
He said he first learned about the footage posted to YouTube on Sunday via a tweet, and was “terribly concerned” by Mather’s comments after reading the transcript.
“There were a number of comments made by Kevin that, as I’ve said, didn’t reflect the Mariners, don’t reflect what I believe, what our ownership believes, and were inappropriate,” he said. “And those comments included some of the things that have been referenced with respect to our players, and in particular the importance of diversity and inclusion in our organization.
“We have that as a central value to the organization and we will do everything we can to continue to deliver on that commitment.”
Stanton said he spoke to Mather and several others in the organization Sunday, and when he arrived Monday morning, Mather was prepared to resign, and he accepted. Asked if he would have fired Mather had he not resigned, Stanton said he did not have to make that decision.
“I came in this morning and Kevin resigned,” he said. “I believe that’s the right answer for the organization.”
Stanton confirmed that Mather does have a small ownership stake in the organization, but whether or not he will retain it has not been addressed yet. Stanton also said the possibility of a severance package has not been resolved at this point. He said Mather will meet with some of the organization’s legal and human resources representatives moving forward.
While Stanton will take over Mather’s responsibilities in the interim, he said the Mariners will begin building a list Tuesday of prospective candidates to fill the role.
Stanton said the events of the past day happened very rapidly. He has spoken to the club’s owners, Major League Baseball, including commissioner Rob Manfred, and is planning to fly to Arizona this week to speak with coaches, staff and players to address the situation.
“We’ve got to keep doing our best every day to continue to build a strong organization here,” he said.
Stanton said he has had several conversations with general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais since the comments surfaced Sunday, and believes Servais is planning to meet with players Tuesday morning.
Asked about how to regain any lost trust with the organization’s players specifically — including several who were mentioned directly in Mather’s comments — Stanton addressed continuing to work at those relationships.
“Trust is built over time,” he said. “It can be lost quickly, but it is built over time. And I now that many people in the organization, including me, have worked to build a trusting relationship with our players, the new players as they’ve arrived.
“I certainly feel like I have a pretty good relationship with a number of the players that have been there, and that will be tested with the process over the next few days and over the next few months, but ultimately the answer is that we’re going to have to continue to work at it and work at it every day.”
Mather addressed the comments Mather made about some players specifically:
▪ He said he plans to talk to top outfield prospect Julio Rodriguez — who appeared to respond to Mather’s comments about his language skills and major league arrival time via Twitter on Sunday — directly when he arrives in Arizona. “Julio is an incredibly talented young man, and we very much look forward to having him in our organization for many years,” he said. “I was disappointed in Kevin’s comments with respect to Julio, in part because I know how hard Julio has worked on his language skills. I follow him on social media, and I enjoy the messages that he delivers.”
▪ He said he views Sunday and Monday as “low points” in the club’s relationship with both Rodriguez and top outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic, who Mather also discussed in detail when speaking about contract proposals and service time manipulation.
“We have got to do everything we can, and we will do everything we can to continue to build the relationships with those young players,” Stanton said. “And there are many more young players, many of whom aren’t even on the 40-man or even invited to camp. We are building an organization that is going to play championship baseball over a long period of time. And that depends on building a trusting relationship with our players and our fans and our staff. And we’re going to do everything we can to build that going forward.”
Concerning Mather’s comments about service time manipulation of Kelenic and others, Stanton said decisions about promoting players are made by Dipoto and the baseball operations team.
“We view Jarred to be an extraordinarily talented young man, and we are very much looking forward to having him in a Seattle Mariners uniform,” Stanton said. “Jerry and Scott will make that decision as to when.”
▪ Regarding Mather saying veteran third baseman Kyle Seager is “probably overpaid,” Stanton said, “I think the world of Kyle. I think he’s a wonderful and important part of the team. As you’ve heard me say before, I think a lot about leadership. And I think Kyle provides some great leadership for us, both on the field and in the clubhouse. I will apologize to Kyle when I see him for the comment. I think that Kyle has been an incredibly important part of this organization.”
Stanton said he does not believe trust has been completely eroded with the players or the fan base.
“I believe that Jerry is highly respected. I believe that Scott is highly respected. And in the clubhouse, those are the two people, Scott in particular,that the players look at,” he said. “I think that that’s who many of the fans look to as well.
“Kevin’s comments did not reflect the values of this organization. ... In terms of building trust going forward, you build trust over time, and you build that relationship by communicating honestly, consistently and meet those (with) both the players and the fans.”
He acknowledged while Mather’s comments represented a disappointment or setback, he does not believe it derails where the Mariners are as an organization.
“I feel like the Mariners have over the last two years done a great deal of work to create a culture that is positive with the organization,” Stanton said. “The comments yesterday are inconsistent with that.
“And it’s important for us to make sure we continue to focus on the things that are important — serving our fans, playing championship baseball, and serving our community. ... This was a disappointing day. Yesterday was a disappointing day. Tomorrow is going to be a better day, and we’re going to focus on that.”
Calls for the Mariners to cut ties with Mather were trending on Twitter by Sunday evening.
Several hours after the contents of the call and a full transcript reached social media, Mather issued the following statement:
“I want to apologize to every member of the Seattle Mariners organization, especially our players and to our fans,” the statement says. “There is no excuse for my behavior, and I take full responsibility for my terrible lapse in judgment.
“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.
“I’ve been on the phone most of the day today apologizing to the many people I have insulted, hurt, or disappointed in speaking at a recent online event.
“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.”
Prior to the organization’s announcement, the Major League Baseball Players Association released a statement Monday addressing the content of Mather’s comments:
“The Club’s video presentation is a highly disturbing yet critically important window into how Players are genuinely viewed by management,” the statement says. “Not just because of what was said, but also because it represents and unfiltered look into Club thinking.
“It is offensive, and it is not surprising that fans and others around the game are offended as well. Players remain committed to confronting these issues at the bargaining table and elsewhere.”
Mather had been the Mariners’ president and CEO since 2017, and was the highest-ranking official in Seattle’s front office apart John Stanton. The club’s executive vice presidents and senior vice presidents reported to Mather.
Following a long stint as an executive for the Twins from 1989-96, Mather joined the Mariners in 1996 as their vice president of finance and administration. He was promoted to executive vice president of finance and ballpark operations in 1999.
Mather became the club’s president and chief operating officer in 2014, and was promoted to his most recent position three years later.
Mather made headlines in 2018 when he was named in a report by The Seattle Times as one of multiple Mariners executives accused of inappropriate workplace conduct in years prior.
The club later said it had “made amends” regarding the allegations of harassment and reportedly made settlement payments of about $500,000 to two former female executive assistants. One of them worked for Mather. He also released a statement apologizing for his past conduct at that time.
This story was originally published February 22, 2021 at 1:09 PM.
