AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 15, 2025

Dan Wilson

T-Mobile Park

Seattle Mariners

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. I know you've talked a lot about just staying the course, looking at what's in front of you. A lot of talk about the past ALCS teams you were a part of this. This team is closer than any of those teams were, up 2-0. Just what are kind of the emotions and just continuing the thought process of looking at what's in front of you, but also recognizing that you guys are closer than you've ever been?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, to me, it's just I feel excited to get back out there tonight. I think we're excited about playing in this ballpark tonight and feeling the energy again from the fans who have been incredibly supportive, who have just been fantastic. I mean, that's really what we're looking at.

We're just focused on what's going to happen tonight and doing the things that we've been doing and not looking beyond that. That's the way our preparation has been all season long and that's where it's going to continue to be.

But we are excited to get back out there and be out here in front of the home fans and in our own ballpark.

Q. Why do you think Cal didn't get nominated for the Gold Glove this year?

DAN WILSON: It's a mystery. But, you know, I think we have seen nothing but Gold Glove performance from him all season long. When you look at some of the stuff that he has to deal with in terms of our pitching staff, a lot of split fingers, particularly Logan, and then the amount of blocking he does, his throwing has been great. There are some tough things that happen along the way, and you'd love for all your guys to be nominated for those kinds of things. But I think the season, the year that Cal has had has just been outstanding and it's always tough.

Q. To follow-up, he sat there and mentioned that after the season's over, he's going to go back over all the analytics and all the framing data and see if there's ways he can improve? I mean, he won the Platinum Glove last year. Is that a very typical Cal mindset?

DAN WILSON: No doubt. Cal wants to be the best. He wants to be the best on both sides of the ball, and I think that's just who he is. I think that's a really good glimpse into the type of player he is and the way he thinks.

Again, it shows humility, that he knows he's -- he thinks he's got things to learn and ways to improve and he's going to find a way. I think he's just that kind of guy. And again, it's not about winning an award, it's about helping a team win. That's where it all stems up and that's his desire to win, and that's why you love to have Cal behind the plate for you.

Q. Cal was talking a lot about heaping praise on George Kirby, Luis, and others that when the lights get brighter in the postseason, they know how to perform -- just paraphrasing that. In what ways has Cal made the biggest difference with them as far as preparation for games like these?

DAN WILSON: I think with all our guys, and particularly here in the playoffs, they have really gone out there with a great game plan. I think the game plans are game plans. You go out there with it, but you have to make adjustments as you go too.

I think the way Cal and all our pitching staff have been able to kind of read what's going on and make those adjustments, I think, has been outstanding. Yes, there's no doubt, he's absolutely right that these guys have stepped up, and that's what happens in the playoffs, and that's what guys do.

But also, I think a lot of the credit goes to Cal too that they have made their adjustments and they have -- he's kind of felt the moment a little bit, read things, I think he's made great mound visits at times. Like, all those things that go into helping a pitcher along in an outing, Cal's been able to execute very, very well.

Q. You have been close to this team throughout, obviously, your career, but you stayed close to this team, you stayed local, you stayed close to the city. When you look in a bigger scale what the energy and excitement is doing around here, what does it mean to you?

DAN WILSON: I mean, it's exciting. Just to see the amount of Mariners hats, the amount of Mariner gear you see around town now, that kind of thing is always great, and that's what makes you feel good about what's happening.

But we want it to continue, and so tonight that's where our focus turns to and turns pretty quickly. But to see the city come alive, to see what T-Mobile Park is going to be like tonight and what it's been in the Detroit series, it's really exciting and, again, that's the essence of October baseball.

Q. What do you remember thinking when you found out you were trading for Josh Naylor, and what have you learned about him as a player, particularly as a hitter? I know we've talked about the stolen bases maybe being surprising, but what stands out to you about him as a hitter?

DAN WILSON: I remember when we played Arizona, he had hit a big grand slam against us and beat us in maybe an extra-inning ball game or late in the game, and just watching him play in that series. I hadn't had a chance to see him up close much. But just understanding the type of at-bats he was putting forward and how difficult he was in the middle of that lineup.

Hearing about us getting him -- obviously, it wasn't the day we found out. We had been talking about it and hoping, and when it happened, you knew your lineup was going to get a lot deeper. And that was a week or so before Geno came, which made it even deeper.

But what I've seen from Nayls -- and I've talked about it quite a bit, is he's just one of the smartest players I've been around and just how he sees the game, how he plays the game. He plays with a lot of intensity. You got to love having that on your team and how quickly this -- he's been sort of absorbed into the fold here and how quickly he's become a leader into the fold as well, it's all been a great match, and he has been so instrumental in this stretch run.

Q. When you were growing up in the Chicago area, certainly on both sides of town there were generational quests and droughts to end on each side, which they have done since. How does growing up with that knowledge, maybe stories you heard from your parents and grandparents, inform the context you have on your franchise trying to do something for the first time?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, the Cubs, certainly you learn that at a young age going through that. But I don't know if there's anything that can properly prepare you for what's here. I think this has just been, you know, such a great stretch, and we, again, just kind of have to get back to what got us here in the preparation and the work that goes into it. Hard to look much beyond that or gain much of a perspective beyond that.

But it is an exciting time, I think, for this city, for this region, and we want to keep it exciting and make it even more exciting going forward.

Q. There are a lot of well-known Mariner fans and people from this city. Have there been a few people that have reached out to you, maybe a famous person, saying congratulations or good luck that's kind of stood out to you?

DAN WILSON: I think just getting texts from former teammates. Lou Piniella was here to throw out the first pitch last series, and getting a chance to see Lou here, and Jay Buhner, who's been around the team this year. Sharing it with some of the guys who were here the last time, obviously, makes -- it just makes you feel good. And Ichiro is around, who was here.

So just sharing that collective memory and seeing it again through a different lens is pretty exciting.

Q. You kind of touched on it there, but having Ichiro around, guys like Edgar around, what has that meant to you to have those guys be so integral to this run?

DAN WILSON: Edgar and I talk about it a lot and just kind of look at each other, and we kind of remember, and seeing T-Mobile Park again like it was in 2001, it just makes you feel great. And so those things are always fun. I remember making the All Star team in '96 and having four teammates to go with me. That's what make it's special. Having other guys around who were experiencing it the last time really makes it special again, and Gar's certainly one of 'em and Ichi, Jay's been around, and just having them around and talking about it and seeing it again has been pretty exciting.

Q. Just as a follow-up on Josh, he had started to run a little bit with Arizona. When you guys acquired him, is that something the coaching staff picked up, like, you can do this more, or has he done this on his own? Because he's gone nuts on the stealing bases.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think we tend to be aggressive here and allow guys to be aggressive and make good decisions. Nayls, again, I think where you really see the smarts that he has is on the bases. He finds those seams, and when he finds a seam, he's going to take it. And he is a right a lot more times than he's wrong. So again, once you see it, you can trust it, and to know that he knows what he's doing, he knows when to take it, and he's just been tremendous at it, and he continues.

Q. Does he have the green light?

DAN WILSON: He does from time to time. I mean, everybody has a green light from time to time, but sometimes you put the red light on. But he's, again, certainly a guy that's a smart player and you can really trust what he does out there.

Q. How does this clubhouse compare to the clubhouses that you were in before games, after games, dealing with the pressure that can perhaps come with trying to do what they are trying to do right now?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think the thing that sort of unifies clubhouses at this time of year is just that, that there is a lot of outside stuff going on, and so they tend to lean on each other. I think this is a group that has begun to really lean on each other. As I've talked about a lot of times, just the love that they have for one another has really -- you know, it helps you with a lot of that. I think that's the commonality, if I had to point to one, is just the rapport, the camaraderie that you have. You're all in this same boat, and that just brings you together, and these guys have handled it so well and continue to lean on each other through it.

Q. From your vantage point, what have you seen from the collaboration between Edgar and Kevin Seitzer and Bobby Magallanes, just that hitting group and how the players have responded to them?

DAN WILSON: Obviously, Edgar last year was the first call I made after I was -- I had the opportunity to take the job. I don't know of a guy who handles offense better than Edgar. So getting him on, and then as we went through interview processes last year in the off-season, I think the way Seitz is thinking in terms of hitting, they're really aligned with Edgar's quite a bit.

And then Bobby Magallanes, who had worked with Seitz, just really impressed with him and what he brought in terms of mechanics and mechanical thinking. So it just feels like it's a really complete group that we have. And, again, when you look at Edgar, what he was able to achieve on the field -- he was a great hitter in and of himself, a Hall of Fame hitter, but he also has the ability to explain it, and not just the physicalness, but also the mental, the approach. It's all-inclusive.

Again, I can't think of a guy better suited for that than Edgar, and he's done an incredible job with all of our hitters, and the way those three have worked together has been just very synergetic.

Q. Last series we talked about just the amount of times you faced certain pitchers. This series faced Trey Yesavage for the first time. I think you're facing Shane Bieber for the first time this year as well. What was the difference between last series and having a game plan established for guys you've already seen, compared to this series where, you know, scouting ahead and facing guys for the first time.

DAN WILSON: I think it is a little bit different. I think, again, you don't really have as much of an idea until you get in the box and you physically see it yourself. But again, we go back to Gar, and Seitz and Bobby, and the work that they do to prepare our hitters, which is tremendous. And video is a big part of it, so you get a chance to at least conceptualize it a little bit inside your head before you get a chance to see it. And then all the information, all the analytics that we have, our analytics team does such a great job too of putting together the pregame stuff, and it does a great job to prepare our guys, so they're ready to go when they take the field. And then again, just like you go out on the field with a game plan as a pitcher and catcher as a battery, you do the same thing as a hitter, and then you have to make your adjustment as you go based on what your eyes are seeing and what you're experiencing. So our guys I think have done a great job of that so far, especially against the guys they haven't seen much.

Q. You talked about the up-the-middle approach. Stay up the middle. I asked Polo why does it allow him to hit more homers and hit the ball harder than he ever had in his career. Can you explain why staying up the middle allows for players to still hit homers and not -- because I think a lot of people think it's just a single up the middle, but staying up the middle allows them to hit homers and drive the baseball as well.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think that as hitters, when you think middle of the field, you're putting yourself in the best position to hit because you're going to be on time for the fastball. You may be out in front breaking ball a little bit, but you're still going to be able to keep it fair. I think that's the differences that, when you're on time for the fastball, you may hit that ball to left center for a homer, you may hit it to right center for a homer. And a breaking ball, you're going to be able to pull, but you're going to stay on it long enough to where you can still pull it out of the ballpark and put a good swing on it.

So it's just a great approach I think because it gets you on time for more stuff and for more pitches. I think we have seen that play out so many times, and that's what Gar preaches and I think it's been very effective for our guys.

Q. (No microphone.)

DAN WILSON: I guess, I mean, in some ways I think hitters have made their adjustments to pitching and that's just happened throughout the course of baseball time, is hitters make adjustments to pitchers and vice versa. So I think this is a time where it certainly has worked, it's worked on our club, and I think that's, again, where you, as a hitter are in your best position to make more consistent and solid contact.