Servais began his major league career in 1991 with the Houston Astros, staying with them until the middle of the 1995 season when he was traded along with Luis Gonzalez to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Wilkins. It was with the Cubs, during the 1998 season, that he played in his only post-season. After the Cubs lost to the Braves in the National LeagueDivision Series as a wildcard team, he signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants.
Towards the end of the 2000 season, Servais was selected off waivers by the Colorado Rockies. Prior to the 2001 season, he was picked up as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers, but was released before the season began. Shortly before the 2001 season, Servais was picked up as a free agent by the Houston Astros. Servais was initially signed as a free agent prior to the 2002 season, but he did not make the opening day roster, making the 2001 season his final season.[4]
Post-playing career
Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Servais served in the Texas Rangers' front office as the senior director of player development from 2004 until 2010.[5] He was hired by Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim general manager Jerry Dipoto as assistant general manager in 2011.[6][7] Dipoto and Servais are close friends, a relationship formed while playing together for the Colorado Rockies in 2000, when the pair had discussed Servais' dream of one day serving as a manager.[8]
Seattle Mariners
When Dipoto resigned during the 2015 season, the Angels hired Billy Eppler.[9] Dipoto was soon hired as the general manager of the Seattle Mariners on September 28, 2015,[10] and second-year manager Lloyd McClendon was fired on October 9, less than a week after the season's conclusion.[11] On October 23, 2015, Servais was hired as the manager of the Mariners for the 2016 season.[12]
On June 26, 2016, Servais received his first ejection as a manager, asking home plate umpire Carlos Torres why he didn't ask the first or third base umpire to see if Shawn O'Malley went around on his swing or not.[13] He finished his first season with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses.[14]
Servais received his second ejection as a manager on April 16, 2017, after first base umpire C. B. Bucknor originally called Leonys Martín's grounder a foul ball and changed the ruling after Rangers first baseman Mike Napoli pleaded with Bucknor that it was a fair ball and Rangers manager Jeff Banister was on his way out to plead his case.[15] On May 25, 2017, Servais received his third ejection of his managerial career on a questionable strike three call on Guillermo Heredia in the top of the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals.[16] His second season concluded six games under .500, a record of 84 losses to 78 wins, achieving 3rd place in the American League Western Division.[17]
On July 20, 2018, Jerry Dipoto announced that Servais' contract would be extended for an undisclosed salary and number of years.[18] This extension came when the 2018 Mariners were playing 58–39, the fourth-best record in the MLB. The team would falter after the all-star break and finished the season in third place in the AL West, 14 games behind the first-place Houston Astros, and 8 games out of the wild card playoff game.[19]
Following the 2018 season, Dipoto was given clearance to trade away the team's best players in order to rebuild towards future strength. In kind, the 2019 Mariners finished 68–94 after a blistering, franchise-best 13–2 start. The 2020 season was a development of the future crop of players, with a better result at 27–33. Through the 2019 and 2020 season, rumors circulated about Servais' long-term career stability with the Mariners, although Dipoto and other front office staff have only voiced confidence.[20]
In 2021, Servais led the Mariners to their best season since 2003, finishing with a 90–72 record and two games back in the American League Wild Card race. The Mariners won despite a run differential of -51, the worst ever for a team with at least 90 wins; on the final day of the season, needing a win to possibly force a tie for the Wild Card, the Mariners lost to the Angels. Servais placed second in voting for the American League Manager of the Year Award, behind Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays.[21] On September 1, 2021, the Mariners announced that Servais had agreed to a multi-year extension with the club.[22]
In 2022, Servais' Mariners had high expectations, but stumbled to a 29–39 record in the first 68 games of the season. However, the Mariners recovered and made the 2022 MLB playoffs as a wild card team. With this playoff appearance, Servais became only the second manager in Seattle Mariners history to lead the team to the playoffs. The Mariners faced the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2022 American League Wild Card Series. They won the series in two games, clinching their first playoff series win in 21 years, with the team coming back from an 8–1 deficit in game 2 after the first five innings to win 10–9, the second largest comeback in postseason history.[23]
In the 2022 American League Division Series, they faced the Houston Astros, who had beaten them 12 out of 19 times in AL West matchups. In Game 1, they scored four runs in the first two innings and held the lead to 7–3 going into the eighth inning.[24] However, the bullpen could not hold it together, and the lead was only 7–5 going into the 9th; Paul Sewald allowed two baserunners (a hit by pitch and a single by Jeremy Peña) to reach while only getting two outs. Servais elected to use Robbie Ray to try and get Yordan Alvarez out to end the game.[25] The gambit failed, as Alvarez launched Ray's second pitch into deep right field for a walkoff 8–7 win. Two days later, the Mariners held a 2–1 lead going into the 6th inning. Again, with two outs and Peña on base, Alvarez was at the plate, this time against starter Luis Castillo. Alvarez launched a home run to left field to give Houston a 3–2 lead. In the 8th, Alvarez was intentionally walked by Servais to get to Alex Bregman with a runner on. Bregman promptly lined a shot to right to make the final score 4–2. Two days after that, the Mariners played their first home playoff game in 21 years. 18 innings later, they lost 1–0 on a Peña home run to finish their season. In total, Seattle was outscored 10–2 over the next 29 innings after leading 7–3 in the 8th inning of Game 1.[citation needed]
In 2023, the Mariners were leading the AL West on September 2 with a record of 77–58. They won just 11 of their last 27 games before being eliminated in the penultimate game of the season and finishing third place behind Houston and Texas, although they did finish with a winning season for their third straight year, the first such period for the team since the 2000-2003 teams.[citation needed]
The 2024 season showed promise, with the team leading the division by ten games on June 18. They proceeded to collapse in July and August, going from 13 games above .500 to at .500 while losing the division lead. The Mariners fired Servais on August 22, 2024, making him the first ever manager to have a ten-game lead of a division/league and not finish the season.[26][27][28]
Servais is the nephew of Creighton head baseball coach Ed Servais.[29] He is married to Jill (née Hanson), his high school sweetheart. The couple have a son and two daughters.
References
^"Front Office". Texas.rangers.mlb.com. May 24, 2013. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
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