Dan Wilson did a fine job for the Seattle Mariners this season, but he may have a lot of sleepless nights ahead of him from here.
The Mariners fell in a heartbreaker on Monday, losing Game 7 of the ALCS to the Toronto Blue Jays by a 4-3 final score. Seattle took a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning, but Blue Jays outfielder George Springer produced a go-ahead three-run home run that flipped the game on its head (video here).
In response to the Springer homer, everyone on X began questioning the Mariners manager Wilson over one decision — why he put reliever Eduard Bazardo in the game to face Springer instead of Andres Munoz.
I truly can’t believe Dan Wilson didn’t go to Andres Munoz there. I can’t believe it.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) October 21, 2025
Witnessing the Dan Wilson masterclass rn, not bringing in Munoz will be in the history books.
— pat (@2faceGroyper) October 21, 2025
It’s absolutely nuts that Dan Wilson didn’t go to Munoz
— Noah Clement (@nclement111) October 21, 2025
Dan Wilson should be fired on the spot for not using Munoz
— Ryan Vooris (@ryanvooris) October 21, 2025
The thinking goes that Wilson should have used his very best reliever (which was the 2025 All-Star Munoz all year) to pitch the highest-leverage situation of the game, especially in a Game 7 on the road. Bazardo, who had already surrendered four earned runs in relief this postseason entering play on Monday, wasn’t a top-three reliever for the Mariners this season and thus looked out of place pitching to Springer in that spot. On top of that, Bazardo threw two innings in Game 6 on Sunday and may have been fatigued. Munoz, meanwhile, hadn’t pitched since Friday’s Game 5 and later threw the ninth inning for Seattle in Monday’s Game 7.
Wilson, 56, took over as Mariners manager late last season and proceeded to lead them to 90 wins and an AL West title this season. He deserves plenty of credit for getting the team all the way to the ALCS (where Seattle had not been since 2001). But when it comes to his decision-making in Game 7 (e.g. having Bazardo pitch to Springer, not intentionally walking Springer with first base open, trusting Dominic Canzone and Leo Rivas for key at-bats, etc.), Wilson now has many Mariners fans wondering what could have been instead.
