After two decades without a playoff appearance, the M\u2019s made their second trip to the postseason in four seasons, won their first division title in 24 years and went on the deepest playoff run in franchise history.<\/p>\n
With the recent success the franchise has had, there\u2019s been a shift in how it is perceived by many around baseball. But what about by the players themselves?<\/p>\n
Mariners general manager Justin Hollander told Seattle Sports\u2019 Wyman and Bob<\/a> on Monday he\u2019s seen a difference.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely evolved over my time here, and I think it is a place now that players want to go to,\u201d said Hollander, who first pointed to the quick re-signing of first baseman Josh Naylor during the offseason.<\/p>\n \u201c(It was) pretty clear that there was a mutual love affair between the city and him, and him and the city and the organization,\u201d Hollander said. \u201cAnd I think it was a priority for him to try and work something out with us. Obviously, everybody wants to see what their value is and make sure that they\u2019re doing right by themselves and their families. But I think it was pretty clear to us, and Josh made it pretty clear, that all things even close to equal, he wants to be a Mariner, which is great. It\u2019s not just from the outside looking in, but he was in it with us for three months and loved the culture, loved the environment, loved the fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n While retaining Naylor was a big move for the Mariners, the signing of veteran free agent Rob Refsnyder may better illustrate how players around the league are now viewing the organization.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a very short list of teams that he wanted to go to that had to check a bunch of different boxes. Winning was No. 1,\u201d said Hollander, who originally was hired by the M\u2019s as director of baseball operations late in the 2016 season. \u201cThe culture (and) environment, talking to players in our clubhouse, and what he was walking into was another one. And he basically said if you guys are willing and interested, you would be at the top of my board, which isn\u2019t something that maybe happened in my first few years here in the \u201916, \u201917, \u201918 range with the Mariners.\u201d<\/p>\n Hear the full conversation at\u00a0this link<\/a>\u00a0or in the audio player below. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022 What M\u2019s manager Wilson said about Randy, Raleigh WBC issue<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0M\u2019s teammates Randy Arozarena, Cal Raleigh at center of WBC controversy<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Why Mariners\u2019 George Kirby is testing out calling his own pitches<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Mariners Notebook: Camp moves, WBC updates and more<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Mariners\u2019 Bryce Miller takes positive first step toward return<\/a><\/p>\n
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