SEATTLE (AP) — Jason Kanzler took an unconventional path to becoming the Seattle Mariners' new manager.
He once considered going to medical school but then became a walk-on star in college. After a stint in the minor leagues, he was a high school physics and chemistry teacher.
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But baseball kept calling him back.
Now he's the 19th full-time manager in Mariners history, and 22nd overall since the club’s inception in 1977. Seattle general manager Justin Hollander said Kanzler's dynamic personality and background as an analytics-forward player-development coach made him the obvious choice for the job.
“To Jason’s credit, I think he left us no choice throughout the process,” Hollander explained. “It was just round after round, conversation after conversation, he dominated the process to the degree that I think we would’ve been foolish to take all that hard work and throw it out the window and not choose him.”
Kanzler, most recently the director of player development with the Chicago Cubs, considered medical school after going unrecruited out of high school, but became a two-time Rawlings Gold Glover as a walk-on outfielder at Buffalo.
He was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, and spent three seasons in the minor leagues.
Once his playing career ended, Kanzler became a high school teacher in Katy, Texas. He explained on Wednesday that it “felt natural” to try teaching, since he already loved helping his teammates improve.
“I really enjoyed it. It has greatly informed how I do things,” Kanzler said. “I think when you get to work with anyone and watch your work in some way help them become better versions of themselves, it is incredibly rewarding, and I do intend to carry that into whatever I do.”
After joining the Houston Astros as a minor league hitting coach in 2019, Kanzler was promoted to manager Dusty Baker’s coaching staff in 2022, the same season the Astros won the World Series after sweeping the Mariners in their AL Division Series.
Kanzler took the job overseeing the Cubs' minor league system before the 2024 season. He has been on Seattle’s radar before, first when they interviewed him for a major league hitting coach role back in 2021.
This is the third manager that Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners' president of baseball operations, has hired during his tenure, all of whom had no prior managing experience. Dipoto hired Scott Servais in October 2015 and brought in Dan Wilson when Servais was fired during the 2024 season.
Dipoto has learned a lot about the process since hiring his first manager. For one thing, he’s been with the Mariners for 11 years now, and involved a lot more people in the process this time around.
“The easy answer is I hope it’s at least another decade before we have to go through that again,” Dipoto said. “But it’s a good process. We advanced, we had far deeper questions to ask, we engaged far more of our baseball operations team in the process, and I think that was a good thing.”
Kanzler comes from an analytics and data-friendly background, something the club seemed to want after firing Wilson following a disappointing 76-86 finish this season, a year that began with high expectations after the Mariners made it to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series in 2025.
“I think we would be fools not to use good information for our advantage, and we will use good information to our advantage," Kanzler said. "In terms of gut feel, I think there will be situations where there is not a clear right or wrong objectively, and that is where understanding the players, understanding the nuance, understanding the context comes into play, and it does matter. My gut feel will not be the only gut feel that is considered in those situations.”
Kanzler spent plenty of time watching the Mariners during his stint with the Astros, and he has seen first-hand the “electric” atmosphere at T-Mobile Park, something he is eager to recreate with a team that features star players like Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh on offense.
“I would like to ride the lightning with this team, in this city,” Kanzler said. “In terms of players, I think it’s extremely exciting. This is a young group, they are talented. This is a good team already, and they have the potential and the talent to be an excellent team.”
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