For the third time in three seasons, the Seattle Mariners will have a new manager.
Bill Plummer, a third-base coach who took over the Mariners when Jim Lefebvre was fired at the end of the 1991 season, was fired Tuesday."It comes with the territory," Plummer said.
With the Mariners, it comes with the franchise. Losing seasons and new managers are two constants.
Plummer, 44, became the ninth ex-manager of the Mariners and his six-man coaching staff was fired, too, after the franchise's 15th losing season in 16 years.
The Baseball Club of Seattle, a Japanese-backed ownership group that bought the Mariners from Jeff Smulyan, fired Plummer with one season left on his two-year, $250,000-a-season contract.
Even by Mariners' standards, 1992 was a dismal year, particularly after Seattle went 83-79 under Lefebvre the previous season.
Plummer's Mariners tried to create more scoring opportunities by running more, but the offense couldn't make up for the team's pitching staff, depleted by a trade for Kevin Mitchell and owner Jeff Smulyan's financial problems.
The Mariners' 4.55 ERA was the second worst in baseball and the bullpen could manage just 30 saves in 45 save opportunities.
As a result, the Mariners had the worst record in the American League at 64-98, their worst finish since going 60-102 in 1983.
Let go with Plummer were pitching coach Dan Warthen, hitting coach Gene Clines, third-base coach Marty Martinez, first-base coach Rusty Kuntz, bench coach Russ Nixon and bullpen coach Roger Hansen.
Clines was released although his star pupil, third baseman Edgar Martinez, became the first Mariners player to capture an AL batting championship and had a major league best .343 average.