'Unsung hero' Suárez awarded for leadership

SEATTLE -- When Eugenio Suárez walked into Scott Servais’ office in Spring Training, the day after the Mariners traded for the slugging third baseman, he lunged for the Mariners’ manager’s fist, firmly shook his hand and immediately shared his mantra of “good vibes only.”

Nearly seven months later, Suárez has shown that his eager and infectious personality wasn’t merely an act. He’s crushed a team-high 31 homers, has shown a remarkable defensive turnaround at third base and injected his veteran and laid-back presence into a young clubhouse that has made him such a valuable addition.

And on Friday, Suárez was recognized for his efforts with the “Unsung Hero” Award, voted on by the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Julio Rodríguez received team MVP honors, while Logan Gilbert was named the club’s pitcher of the year.

It’s an annual ceremony on the final weekend of the year, and more often, the Unsung Hero honor is also the under-the-radar recognition compared to the other two. But Suárez’s impact was particularly worthy of recognition.

"Lo and behold, he's become a big-time leadership piece in our clubhouse," Servais said. "He's the guy that gets the team to enjoy the daily wins."

The gauntlet of a 162-game season, when players are together every day for sometimes up to eight months, can be a metaphorical roller coaster of highs and lows, and this season in Seattle has been no different. Yet the voice of Suárez, despite his newcomer status, carried weight. Part of that was because the Mariners fostered an environment where his personality could flourish.

That wasn’t exactly the case when he first broke into the Majors in 2014 with Detroit. Part of it stemmed from him being a rookie, sure, but there was also a more buttoned-up culture there.

"My first years in the big leagues, it was a little tough for me because I was one of the younger players," Suárez said. "In Detroit, there were a lot of veterans and I was scared to be me because I didn’t know how they would treat me. ... When I got here, that was the big difference. They let you be you. They let you just enjoy and have fun every time."

As the season has progressed, Suárez has taken on a pronounced role in team meetings -- all while adding levity, with some help from veteran Carlos Santana, whom Seattle traded for in June. Santana introduced the postgame players-only team dance in a circle following wins, but Suárez took it another level by adding a mini meeting before the clubhouse opens to media.

Suárez, who had a heads-up stolen base in the 10th inning on Friday that was later changed by the official scorer to an advance on the play, had the perfect platform to hold one after.

"I think I heard him say he'll start out: 'Great job tonight, guys,’ this and that," Servais recounted. "And if he has a good game, he says, 'Great job by me. Tonight was my first stolen base in two years.' So that's what you get out of Geno. It's always something to keep the team loose and it's very creative. He's got great one liners. He's not afraid. He enjoys playing baseball and it's rubbed off on a lot of our guys."

It’s not just the presence, but also the position that Suárez has filled this year that has been so impactful. For 10 full seasons, the Mariners penciled Kyle Seager’s name in at third base and watched Seager blossom into an All-Star, fan favorite and leader.

Suárez doesn’t have nearly that tenure, but he’s already among the players fans gravitate toward. Earlier this year, the Mariners’ marketing department put on a “Good Vibes Only” night in which the giveaway was a sleeveless tank top, which many of his teammates wore that week during batting practice. Servais even wore it during a postgame press conference.

"It's just unbelievable that they recognize and they support your hard work," Suárez said. "They know you come here to compete. And for me, baseball is about fans."

Thankfully for the Mariners, Suárez recovered quickly from a fractured right index finger in time to return for this final playoff push.

He's been a huge and perhaps somewhat surprising piece to their success given that Jesse Winker was the headliner in that splashy Spring Training trade. Suarez is owed a little more than $11 million each of the next two seasons then has a $15 million team option against a $2 million buyout for 2025, meaning that he’ll be here for a while -- and by all accounts, he's pretty thrilled about that.