Seattle Mariners designated hitter Mitch Garver opened up Wednesday about the intense backlash from fans resulting from his ongoing struggles this season. Following a 3-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, Garver expressed the challenges he is facing both on and off the field.
“It’s probably the hardest I’ve ever had to grind,” said an emotional Garver, as reported by Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. “This is by far the worst I’ve ever played in my career. Tough on myself and my family with the death threats, the ‘retire’ and ‘you suck’ and ‘fucking kill yourself’ and all that shit.”
Garver noted that the negative feedback is becoming overwhelming. “It’s getting old. The only way I change it is if I play better, but it’s, like, continuing right now. So the worse I play more here. And rightfully so. I’m not playing well.”
His performance this season reflects his struggles; Garver is currently slashing .168/.286/.337 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs. In the recent game against the Red Sox, he went 0-for-5, striking out twice and leaving eight runners on base.
“I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m not going to hit above .200 this year,” the eight-year veteran said. “And I don’t know. It might not get better. Who knows? Maybe it just gets worse. I don’t know. But I show up to the field every day prepared to play, prepared to get better and work hard and control what I can control. And the people out there that say certain things, they say whatever they want. I think I bring a lot to this team.”
Garver joined the Mariners this offseason on a two-year, $24 million contract after a successful 2023 season with the Texas Rangers, where he hit 19 home runs with an .870 OPS in 87 games.
“I’ve never quit anything,” the 33-year-old added. “Certainly not going to quit this. They’re gonna have to rip the jersey off my back. That’s fine. That’s an easy way out. I could happily retire right now, go home, and live a great life with my family. That’s not what I do. I made a two-year commitment to this team. They believe in me, my teammates believe in me. So, it’s a matter of just making it click and when it does, good things will happen.”
