On Baseball Managers and Decision-Making

Photo by Taylor Mortin on Unsplash

Like many people you will see in the early fall with joy on their faces—until the inevitable heartbreak strikes—I am a baseball fan. For those of us who love the game, there is much to savor as the postseason takes shape. One of the perennial delights for fans, though you might not know it from the anger and disbelief in their voices, is anticipating and second-guessing the many decisions a manager has to make in the course of an important game. As I’ve been reflecting on this tradition in relation to one particular team, it strikes me that there are lessons here for anyone in a position to make decisions for an organization. Whether your leadership role is in a congregation, on a committee, in an educational institution, in a business, or elsewhere, there is always more to learn when it comes to decision-making.

But first, a little context. I am not just a baseball fan. I am one of that breed of hard-luck, star-crossed baseball fans who root for the Seattle Mariners. True, for most of the 20th century, fans of teams such as the Boston Red Sox or the Chicago Cubs had justifiable claims to the title of most heartbroken. The Red Sox, for example, lost every World Series in which they appeared over the course of many decades (1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986) in the decisive seventh game. (This all happened after the Sox won three World Series titles in four years with the great Babe Ruth, then sold him to the New York Yankees—hence the infamous “Curse of the Bambino”). The Cubs endured an even longer title drought through most of the century, and another supposed curse (involving a billy goat and a disgruntled fan) was blamed. But both of those ball clubs have won World Series titles in the last ten years, and Boston has no less than four in this century.

The Mariners are different. Our history is not one of reaching the World Series and falling short in heartbreak. Ours is a history of never getting there—quite literally. There are 30 Major League Baseball teams, and 29 of them have won at least one league pennant and reached the World Series. Even the four most recent expansion teams, founded in the 1990s, have all reached at least one Fall Classic. The Mariners are the only team that has never enjoyed that experience. (Note: All of this is true at the time of this writing, just as the Mariners are playing in the American League Championship Series. My hope, therefore, is that it will no longer be true by the time you read this.)

Despite that history of disappointment, or perhaps ironically because of it, strong and cherished bonds have formed between the fans and the players. The Mariner faithful love their Hall of Fame players, to be sure—particularly those who entered Cooperstown as Mariners: Ken Griffey, Jr., Edgar Martinez, and Ichiro Suzuki. But there is a special place in fans’ hearts for longtime players who were not necessarily household names outside of Seattle; names like Alvin Davis, Harold Reynolds, and Kyle Seager. In the latter category, Dan Wilson may be the most beloved of all. He was the Mariners’ catcher from 1994 to 2005 and a key leader on four playoff teams. Respected for his strong character and disarming kindness, Wilson has been quite public about his Christian faith. After his retirement, he served the Mariners organization in a variety of roles before being named the team’s manager in the middle of the 2024 season. After that team’s strong finish (despite missing the playoffs for the second straight year), there was a good bit of fan enthusiasm heading into the first full season with Wilson at the helm.

But many of us also felt a hint of trepidation. Baseball managers inevitably get criticized, often harshly. Did we really want a respected team legend entering into that situation? Did we want to turn on our car radios to hear Joe from Maple Valley screaming at a franchise icon because of a pinch-hitting decision? As the season went on, it became clear that the worry had some merit. Wilson received a good deal of criticism about his in-game strategic decisions from both local media and fans. The good news is that none of it seemed to diminish the affection people felt for Wilson the person. The complaints were usually prefaced with affirmations: “I love Dan, but he really has to pull Bryce Miller sooner when the velocity starts to drop…”.

Even as the team finished the 2025 season with a remarkable stretch of baseball and secured their first division title in 24 years, the carping from fans continued. This is baseball, after all. The Mariners’ first playoff series, against the Detroit Tigers, brought forth a prime example. In the first game of the series, Mariner pitcher George Kirby pitched brilliantly for the first two times through the Tigers’ batting order. In the fifth inning, with one out, one base runner on, and a 1-0 lead, Wilson left him in to face lefthander Kerry Carpenter, who has a history of hitting Kirby well. Carpenter hit a high fastball (a pretty good pitch) out for a 2-run home run, and Seattle eventually lost the game in extra innings. Wilson was criticized for not bringing in left-handed reliever Gabe Speier in that spot.

Baseball is a game of recurring storylines, and this series was no exception. An almost identical situation emerged in the fifth and decisive game of the series. Kirby was pitching another masterpiece through five innings. But in the sixth inning, he found himself in a bit of a tight spot: one runner on base, nobody out, and a 1-0 lead. And of course, in this most poetic of all sports, it was Kerry Carpenter walking to the plate. This time, Dan Wilson brought in Speier for the lefthander-on-lefthander matchup that fans had wanted in Game 1. Speier, who has been superb all year, made a mistake and left a pitch over the middle of the plate. Once again, Carpenter took it out for a 2-run home run and the lead.  

So Wilson had faced very similar situations in two different games, and he chose two different options—both representing the most reasonable options available to him. Both failed. There are lessons here for any area of leadership. Sometimes a bad result can come from a good decision, or vice versa. And sometimes there is no great option available. Taking on a leadership role means that decisions will have to be made with imperfect information and (of course) the inability to predict the future. And judgment will come from those with the 20-20 vision of hindsight. 

But in the midst of all the criticism, there is a great deal to admire in how Dan Wilson has responded. First, he has been fully transparent about his thought process in postgame press conferences, explaining why he made each move when he did. Even if others would have made—or at least claim in retrospect that they would have made—a different decision, they are able to understand the logic behind the choice. Second, Wilson has continually taken a collaborative approach to decision-making with his coaching staff, drawing on their various areas of expertise. That decisive fifth game of the series against Detroit, which the Mariners won in 15 innings, revealed a classic example. In the seventh inning, Wilson sent switch-hitter Leo Rivas to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Rivas proved a surprising hero, knocking a game-tying single and making Wilson look like something of a genius. But in the postgame press conference, Wilson publicly credited Bench Coach Manny Acta for the idea to pinch-hit Rivas. Not only was Wilson wise enough to recognize a good idea when he heard it, but he also made sure that the responsible member of his staff got the public credit. Third and finally, Wilson has made it clear that he is constantly learning and refining his decision-making process. There is not a hint of the salty and combative caricature of a baseball manager in Wilson. He is honest about the fact that every leader has to grow, and even the mistakes along the way can help foster that growth.

In any area of ministry or service, decisions will have to be made, and criticism will come. It simply comes with the territory. But these reminders go a long way toward fostering wise decisions and healthy communities. May we all be transparent in our process, collaborate with and give credit to others, and continually learn, grow, and develop as leaders. And may we remain patient, like those many Seattle Mariners fans who—though Advent is still a month away—plead continually: come, thou long expected pennant.

Doug Koskela is Professor of Theology at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA, and an ordained elder in the Free Methodist Church. He is on the Editorial Board for Firebrand.