The Seattle Mariners on Tuesday named former MLS executive Catie Griggs their new president of business operations.
Griggs replaces Kevin Mather, who resigned in February after making offensive remarks about players with the organization.
Griggs will begin her new role the week of Aug. 23.
“We had a really impressive group of finalists for this role,” Mariners chairman and managing partner John Stanton said in a team statement. “Out of that very strong group, Catie set herself apart with her passion, her experience, and the perspective she will bring to the Mariners.”
Griggs joins the Mariners from Atlanta United, where she served as chief business officer the past four years. Atlanta United led the MLS in average attendance every season of her tenure there.
“The Mariners are a team on the rise, and as that success builds on the field, we have an opportunity to forge even stronger bonds with the community,” Griggs said in the release. “I will bring a championship mentality to everything the franchise does by focusing on the fans and giving back in meaningful ways.”
Mather resigned after a video was posted of remarks he made to a local Rotary Club on Feb. 5. In those remarks, he said Mariners prospect Julio Rodriguez “is loud, his English is not tremendous.” He also said former pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma’s English “was terrible.”
–Field Level Media