I woke up this morning really excited to watch Mitch Haniger play baseball in 2022. There are more compelling baseball players on the Mariners roster, and there are more than likely a handful of better ones too. Haniger is a fairly known commodity at this point: A slugging, hard-working corner outfielder/DH with a spotty health track record and defense that appears to be becoming a liability. Baseball has seen plenty like him. More current MLB rosters than not probably feature at minimum a kroger brand Mitch Haniger or equivalent. Yet, he’s the one front of the ol’ noodle this AM.

In the past I think I’d have either never written about this, or tried to write something that sounds at least statistically relevant enough to pass over a certain credibility bar. Like a lot of people who write I suffer from pretty crippling imposter syndrome. I have no background in mathematics or statistics. Nearly 100% of my foot-deep knowledge of these subjects comes from trying to keep my baseball conversation mildly relevant in the modern age. But still, past me would have tried to gussy up the prose a bit with projections, wRC+, exit velo, etc. something to tell you, dear reader, that I’m worth listening to. That I get it.

I’ll certainly do that again, but I’m not going to do it today. After 15 years or so of following along with baseball’s Moneyball era I find myself sick of the fruit born by that particular tree. Baseball is not particularly better than it was 20 years ago, and I’d argue it’s definitely not as much fun to be a fan of it. Rather I’ll just say a few things about Mitch Haniger here:

Mitch Haniger rakes. That’s what he does, and what he has done consistently in his relatively brief and injury-laden MLB career. He has a lifetime line of .263/.339/.461. His outfield defense has trended between average to below average, and there is concern his age and limited range from last season may push him to DH sooner than later. He works hard, grinds at-bats, hits to all fields, and competes his ass off every day he steps on the field.

Additionally, and more to the point of this particular post, he appears to be a quiet leader in the Mariners clubhouse. He is widely respected by his teammates and media that cover him. From what I can tell he appears to hold the stinginess of the owner class in the same contempt as I and many other fans. After last year he wrote a thoughtful essay to fans outlining his passion to bring the playoffs to Seattle, and his desire to see the organization be aggressive in adding talent. He’s someone I feel, whether accurately or not, I can relate to.

In discussions I’ve had with a good friend and great writer we often talk about how writing is finding the middle ground between saying what you want to say, and offering the audience a reason to listen to it. In baseball terms Haniger, for me, is that bridge between organization and fan. Whether I believe he will succeed is less important to me than my desire to see him succeed, and to find joy in the act of rooting for that success. 

Last year I wrote about the baseball reasons for the Mariners to extend Mitch Haniger, and I more or less still believe in them. He’s a quality player in an organization that needs as many of them as possible. This year, my earnest wish is to see him extended for more personal reasons. I want a player I can attach myself to year after year. I want a player I believe will do his best to represent the franchise and city well. I want a player like Mitch Haniger to cheer for.

I have let myself pretend that my rooting interest is tied to efficiency and metrics for a long time, but I think that’s mostly done. I don’t care about how much Mitch Haniger’s salary effects the Mariners roster construction, or how smart it is to low ball him in arbitration. I am not rooting for the players I like to be taken advantage of. I like rooting for Mitch Haniger on my team, and as long as he wants to be here and is a useful player I hope the team allows me to do so, and that they compensate him fairly for his play. There doesn’t really have to be anything much more to it than that.

Goms.