The Seattle Mariners: Built In Everett

. . . The namesake of the biggest innovation in recent MLB history passed away when Tommy John passed away on Saturday. John was a strong pitcher for the Dodgers in the early 1970s when his elbow failed. So many pitchers before him had the same injury happen, but John connected with surgeon Frank Jobe and had a revolutionary ligament surgery. He returned to the mound in 1976, and in his first full season back to the mound in 1977, he won 20 games. Overall, he won 288 games, and between his on-field success and his off-field impact on the game, John absolutely should be enshrined in Cooperstown. He was 83.

. . . While certainly nowhere near the impact of the game as John, Butch Huskey was innovative in his own way. Playing with the New York Mets, Huskey wore number 42 as a tribute to Jackie Robinson. Two years into his career, Major League Baseball retired Robinson’s number across the league, and Huskey was among a small group of players grandfathered in to wear the number in the future after the retirement. Huskey played 642 games across seven MLB seasons. He passed away on Friday at age 54.

. . . The weekend also saw the passing of a college baseball legend. Skip Bertman began his legendary coaching career as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Miami in 1976. He won a national title with the Hurricanes in that role before moving to LSU in 1984 as the head coach. He turned around the program, heading to Omaha four times before winning his first championship in 1991. That would be the first of five titles in a 10-year span for LSU and Bertman. He retired from the field to become LSU’s athletic director in 2001. Bertman is widely considered among the top coaches in college baseball history. He passed on Friday at 88 years old.

By Miguel Riera

Before reaching the Major Leagues, a baseball player goes through different levels and stages of development designed to maximize his talent and help him pursue the dream of reaching the highest level of the game.

Before reaching T-Mobile Park, a player in the Seattle Mariners organization must move through different levels, cities, coaches, teammates and competitive situations that help shape and refine him—not only as a baseball player, but also as a person.

For the Mariners, an important part of that process happens in Everett, Wash., through their High-A affiliate, the Everett AquaSox.

The AquaSox represent much more than another level within the organization. They are an important piece of a structure designed to turn talent into players prepared to compete at the highest levels of professional baseball, while also developing a winning mindset.

Because the process begins long before a player arrives in Everett.

Scouts and the teams responsible for the draft and international player identification and signings have the responsibility of finding the pieces that could become part of the organization’s future. But once that talent is selected and signed, another challenge begins: finding the best way to maximize each player’s potential.

And to do that, it is not enough to select well.

You have to develop well.

That process requires a structure capable of working with each player, understanding his needs and finding the right tools to take his talent to the next level. It requires good coaches and managers, but also a front-office structure that allows all those pieces to work in the same direction.

The work being done in Everett is the result of a structure that involves much more than the coaching staff.

People such as Dan Tzlaft, Mike McCallaghan and Evan Morud have helped build an organization capable of serving as a true partner in the Seattle Mariners’ player-development process.

Each from his own area, but with a common objective: creating an environment where players, coaches and staff can do their jobs and where Everett can fulfill its role within the organization it belongs to.

The most visible result of that work came in 2025, when the AquaSox won the Northwest League championship.

But the championship can be viewed as more than the result of a successful season. It can also be seen as the realization of a competitive culture in which individual development and a winning mentality are part of the same process.

Once a player arrives in Everett, a new stage begins.

Ryan Scott, Zach Vincej, Hecmart Nieves and Edgardo Rivera represent different experiences within professional baseball and are part of a structure designed to address the different areas a young player needs to develop.

They are joined by specialized coaches and professionals who can work with players on specific aspects of their game and help improve the smallest details. Even figures with the experience of Franklin Gutiérrez can provide specialized knowledge that complements the coaching staff’s daily work.

Experience in winter baseball also brings a particular value.

Those who have worked in winter leagues understand an environment where players from different countries, cultures, playing styles and levels of experience share the same clubhouse. It is a different school of baseball, one that forces players and coaches to adapt quickly and understand different ways of competing.

That experience can be critical in player development.

It is not simply about teaching mechanics.

It is about understanding the game and finding the best way to communicate it to each player.

Everett’s location is also part of its value within the Mariners’ system.

Its proximity to Seattle can become an advantage when circumstances require quick decisions.

This season provided a perfect example.

Seattle was dealing with a difficult stretch of injuries and needed an additional outfielder. At the same time, Tacoma, the organization’s Triple-A affiliate, was playing on the road.

Everett was at home.

The solution came from there.

Curtis Washington received the call from the AquaSox and had the opportunity to join the Seattle Mariners.

For the player, it was a chance to move closer to the dream of reaching the Major Leagues.

For the organization, it was a practical demonstration of how a development system works when several elements come together: prepared talent, roster needs, player availability and geographic proximity.

The path to the Major Leagues is not always linear.

Sometimes a player can move from High-A directly to the Major Leagues because circumstances require it.

When that happens, the preparation has to be there.

Individual development and a winning mentality do not have to be opposing concepts.

A player can improve his swing while learning how to compete.

He can develop his defensive tools while learning how to handle pressure.

He can improve his decision-making while understanding what it means to be part of a team that expects to win.

That is part of what Everett has been building.

The 2025 Northwest League championship demonstrated that development and competitiveness can coexist.

The primary purpose of High-A remains developing players for the levels ahead. But teaching them how to compete, respond to adversity and understand what it means to win is also part of preparing them for Seattle.

A winning DNA does not appear overnight.

It is built.

It is passed down.

And eventually, it becomes culture.

For years, Everett Memorial Stadium has been part of the history of the AquaSox and baseball in the city.

Now Everett is preparing for a new chapter with the development of a new stadium that will give the organization better facilities and new opportunities to continue developing players.

But the future of the AquaSox should not be measured only by the characteristics of the new stadium.

The true value of a player-development organization is found in its people.

In the coaches who teach.

In the specialists who work on every detail.

In the people building the structure from the front office.

In those who identify the talent.

And in those responsible for turning that talent into players prepared for the next level.

The stadium can change the setting.

Culture can change careers.

And Everett has already shown that it can be much more than a stop on the road to Seattle.

This is where the next group of players headed to T-Mobile Park begins to take shape—players who could one day help the Seattle Mariners pursue the first World Series championship in franchise history.

Miguel Riera is an IBWAA member and covers baseball for Lineup al Dia. He can be found on a number of platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Riera is a member of the IBWAA and SABR, and is currently enrolled in the Baseball General Manager & Scouting program at Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW).

Turning 43 today is former MVP, All-Star, and World Series champion Dustin Pedroia. The Red Sox drafted Pedroia out of Arizona State in the second round in 2004. By 2006, Pedroia had reached the majors, and he won the Rookie of the Year award in 2007 and the MVP in 2008, then was the Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, showing how balanced his excellence was between his hitting and fielding. Unfortunately, Pedroia’s 30s were rough, primarily due to injury, as he played just 496 games over six seasons before retiring after the 2019 season. Pedroia’s JAWS mark is above new Hall of Famer Jeff Kent among second basemen, and nearly doubling his Hall of Fame vote total in his second year of balloting could indicate that Pedroia will eventually also find his plaque hanging in Cooperstown.

Here’s the Pitch is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [biggentleben@hotmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.