Mariners Manager Scott Servais Releases Statement After Finding Out He Was Fired From Breaking News Alert
The Seattle Mariners relieved longtime manager Scott Servais of his duties on Thursday after a midseason collapse that has put the Mariners 7.5 games behind Houston when they held a 10-game lead in the AL West two months ago.
Scott Servais was set to meet with Mariners President Jerry Dipoto at noon on Thursday and Dipoto, a longtime friend of Servais, was going to deliver him the difficult news that he was being fired. Things didn’t go as planned, however, as Servais learned he was fired hours before the meeting when he saw a breaking news alert on TV announcing that he had been fired.
Speaking to media later in the day, Mariners President Jerry Dipoto said it “crushes me” that Servais learned of his firing that way. It was, after all, Dipoto who hand-picked Scott Servais for the Mariners manager role years ago and the two go back years, having previously been teammates and friends before they were colleagues with the Mariners organization.
At the afternoon press conference, Dipoto told the media “I’ve known Scott for, boy, three decades. Scott’s been my friend for many, many years, and I can’t stress enough how tough this day was for me — and tougher for him, frankly. And that’s hard for me to put into words.”
After learning he was fired from a breaking news alert on TV, Scott Servais still had it in him to release a heartfelt statement to Mariners fans, players, and staff where he thanked everyone for his incredible time with the organization:
Prior to last season, the Seattle Mariners had gone 21 YEARS without a trip to the MLB Postseason. Former Mariners manager Scott Servais was a city-wide hero for bringing the team back to the MLB Playoffs.
But the winds can shift quickly and the Mariners’ 10-game lead two months ago quickly evaporated into a 7.5 game deficit behind the Houston Astros. Seattle felt a change had to be made so they made one.
As for Servais finding out he was fired via a breaking news alert on TV, that is tragic and it was
unavoidable. Whatever the chain of events is that led to that happening needs to be reviewed. It’s poor form for everyone involved in allowing that news to be leaked before Scott Servais himself was informed that he was fired.
