Mariners Employees in a Bar

I was in a bar tonight
There was a group of mariners employees and if you read this you’ll know what’s up.
It’s hard to be in a public place and talk about work, even harder when you work for an organization that’s as public as a professional sports team.
As a marketer, as a strategist, I’d recommend not spilling internal information in a public forum.
I got more insight about internal feelings about players from the group of you than I’ve ever gotten from… anywhere. I know who’s in the doghouse, who’s replaceable, who the organization doesn’t believe in. And it’s not because of my outside perception, it’s because of your conversation. 
I’ve never been put in a position to think this way. To hear the inside perception of players, of their work ethic, the laundry of a major league sports team.
You’re amateurs. You sit and you judge the players and you sit and drink beers and work on marketing or statistics and you air dirty laundry in a public forum. 
Never do that. Never throw players under the bus publicly, never say a player belongs in an Issaquah house for retirement for a playoff push. If the org knows how to handle things, that’s not your decision, no matter how right it might seem from the inside out. 
My job is working with organizations to think from the outside in, and you failed. You gave the public information that wouldn’t be public otherwise, even though you didn’t realize it. You didn’t realize somebody close to the team from the outside in was listening to your banter.
It’s sad that this is the dialogue within the org. It’s sad that if you’re talking about the worthlessness of a player. It’s sad because if you’re saying it that represents the perception inside the org, this is the dialogue, otherwise why would non player personnel decision makers be talking about it. Its sad that you judge players not on their human value, or their contributions, but on something that’s more banal, something that isn’t… based on trying to succeed. It’s sad that you don’t realize how you talk, how you think, how you berate and reprimand and demean, is something that if you’re saying it, everybody within the org is saying the same thing. That the players know exactly what you’re thinking, what you’re saying. You’re that open. You’re a dictionary. You’re a tool.
Yes, it’s sad. If I ever hear employees saying the types of things you said about other employees within my org, if I head that, I would be livid. I hope you recognize your words have power. That you’re insidious. That you have a place in this org and they deserve better from you.
You hurt me tonight. You made me believe less. And that’s the problem with entitlement. You do the stats and the marketing and the organization of the hotels and the deployment of the uniforms and the scouting and the whatever other bullshit you do. But in reality you’re a shadow. You don’t perform on the field. 
You’re living off the achievements of others, achievements worth celebrating. And I feel so demeaned, as a fan, as a lifelong fan, that I hope you read this, I hope you feel what matters to a fan, to an informed fan.
You made it matter less. You brought out the business side of things more than you realize. You punished those that try hard from your pitiful place of power. You brought to light internal conversations about players that can’t achieve what the org wants. You’re showed me what people who lift weights and run half marathons and are fit and work for a sports team think about players who have dedicated their life to excellence. You think you’re better than them.
I’m sorry for you. Im sorry that the investment of the players isn’t enough. Im sorry that people like me hear you and recognize that this is the conversation within the org. That you don’t believe in certain individuals. And if I know it, if I heard it, the players know it. Every person in the org knows it. You’re the worst thing an org could ask for. You’re know it alls without the talent to prove it on the field.
You’re small, and always will be.