New Mariners manager Jason Kanzler once taught chemistry. Now he’ll try to build it

SEATTLE (AP) — Jason Kanzler took an unconventional path to becoming the Seattle Mariners' new manager.

He once considered going to medical school but then became a walk-on star in college. After a stint in the minor leagues, he was a high school physics and chemistry teacher.

But baseball kept calling him back.

Now he's the 19th full-time manager in Mariners history, and 22nd overall since the club’s inception in 1977. Seattle general manager Justin Hollander said Kanzler's dynamic personality and background as an analytics-forward player-development coach made him the obvious choice for the job.

“To Jason’s credit, I think he left us no choice throughout the process,” Hollander explained. “It was just round after round, conversation after conversation, he dominated the process to the degree that I think we would’ve been foolish to take all that hard work and throw it out the window and not choose him.”

Kanzler, most recently the director of player development with the Chicago Cubs, considered medical school after going unrecruited out of high school, but became a two-time Rawlings Gold Glover as a walk-on outfielder at Buffalo.

He was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, and spent three seasons in the minor leagues.

Once his playing career ended, Kanzler became a high school teacher in Katy, Texas. He explained on Wednesday that it “felt natural” to try teaching, since he already loved helping his teammates improve.

“I really enjoyed it. It has greatly informed how I do things,” Kanzler said. “I think when you get to work with anyone and watch your work in some way help them become better versions of themselves, it is incredibly rewarding, and I do intend to carry that into whatever I do.”

After joining the Houston Astros as a minor league hitting coach in 2019, Kanzler was promoted to manager Dusty Baker’s coaching staff in 2022, the same season the Astros won the World Series after sweeping the Mariners in their AL Division Series.

Kanzler took the job overseeing the Cubs' minor league system before the 2024 season. He has been on Seattle’s radar before, first when they interviewed him for a major league hitting coach role back in 2021.

This is the third manager that Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners' president of baseball operations, has hired during his tenure, all of whom had no prior managing experience. Dipoto hired Scott Servais in October 2015 and brought in Dan Wilson when Servais was fired during the 2024 season.

Dipoto has learned a lot about the process since hiring his first manager. For one thing, he’s been with the Mariners for 11 years now, and involved a lot more people in the process this time around.

“The easy answer is I hope it’s at least another decade before we have to go through that again,” Dipoto said. “But it’s a good process. We advanced, we had far deeper questions to ask, we engaged far more of our baseball operations team in the process, and I think that was a good thing.”

Kanzler comes from an analytics and data-friendly background, something the club seemed to want after firing Wilson following a disappointing 76-86 finish this season, a year that began with high expectations after the Mariners made it to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series in 2025.

“I think we would be fools not to use good information for our advantage, and we will use good information to our advantage," Kanzler said. "In terms of gut feel, I think there will be situations where there is not a clear right or wrong objectively, and that is where understanding the players, understanding the nuance, understanding the context comes into play, and it does matter. My gut feel will not be the only gut feel that is considered in those situations.”

Kanzler spent plenty of time watching the Mariners during his stint with the Astros, and he has seen first-hand the “electric” atmosphere at T-Mobile Park, something he is eager to recreate with a team that features star players like Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh on offense.

“I would like to ride the lightning with this team, in this city,” Kanzler said. “In terms of players, I think it’s extremely exciting. This is a young group, they are talented. This is a good team already, and they have the potential and the talent to be an excellent team.”

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Seattle Mariners manager Jason Kanzler speaks during an introductory press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Mariners manager Jason Kanzler, middle, smiles during an introductory press conference with president of baseball operation Jerry Dipoto, left, and general manager Justin Hollander, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operation Jerry Dipoto, left, hands ball cap to manager Jason Kanzler during an introductory press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Mariners manager Jason Kanzler speaks during an introductory press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operation Jerry Dipoto, left, manager Jason Kanzler, middle, and general manager Justin Hollander pose for photos during an introductory press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s election results will be announced Saturday after a tense campaign left the main contenders neck and neck with no clear route to victory for either, as voters evaluated three years of conservative rule.

Analysts don't expect a simple majority for either the governing coalition, led by the center-right National party, or the opposition bloc led by center-left Labour. The uncertainty may reflect voter discontent about both major parties as economic problems linger following international shocks that have buffeted New Zealand’s trade-based economy.

There's also growing support for politicians on the ideological flanks, a global trend that has gathered pace in New Zealand later than elsewhere. An unclear result could throw greater power to minor, more populist parties.

The National leader Christopher Luxon faces a tough fight for a second term as prime minister after facing two confidence votes among his own lawmakers this year. Meanwhile, Labour’s Chris Hipkins seeks a second chance at power after a resounding defeat three years ago.

Voting began Oct. 26 with results due for release after polling places close Saturday evening. New Zealand has a single house of government, and there are no states. The central government, elected for three-year terms, holds ultimate sway over the country’s direction.

Neither major party leader has managed to connect strongly with voters, analysts said.

Luxon’s party won the 2023 election on pledges to reverse New Zealand’s post-pandemic economic malaise. While he highlights trade deals signed during his tenure, economic recovery has been slow and unemployment reached an 11-year high in the September quarter.

New Zealand’s stubbornly steep costs of living send thousands of people each year to live in the country's larger, wealthier neighbor Australia.

“You’ve got an incumbent coalition government which is struggling with the same incumbency problems that we’re seeing in our Western democracies around the world,” said Ben Thomas, a former National government press secretary and now the director of a public affairs firm.

However, Hipkins and his Labour party, who are pledging to ease living costs and fund New Zealand’s struggling public healthcare system, haven’t surged in support either. Neither Labour nor National has recorded more than 30% of the vote in polls close to Nov. 7.

“I think there is a broader mistrust in the electorate of both of our traditional two major parties,” said Thomas.

That sentiment has been a windfall for smaller parties that Luxon or Hipkins would rely upon to form a governing coalition.

New Zealanders don’t elect prime ministers. Instead they cast two votes, one for their preferred party and one to select a local representative.

To govern, a coalition of parties must hold more than half of parliament’s seats. The total number of seats is determined by official calculations on election night based on quirks of the country’s vote.

National in 2023 joined with two right-wing parties, populist New Zealand First and libertarian ACT, to form the country’s most conservative modern government. Detractors of Luxon, a business executive who entered parliament in 2020, note his political inexperience compared to the leaders in his power-sharing deal.

In particular, the minor parties sought to repeal legal recognition of Indigenous Māori rights. About 100,000 people marched on Parliament to oppose one of the measures secured by ACT in its governing deal with Luxon.

The power that the smaller parties won from Luxon, said Bernard Hickey, an economic and political analyst, “created this surprise, I think, for many voters that the tail was wagging the dog for the first time. In fact, there were two tails wagging one dog.”

On Hipkins’ side, the left-wing Green party has also experienced strong support. Another traditional Labour coalition partner is Te Pati Māori, an Indigenous rights group.

Hipkins, a career politician, was thrust into the premiership nine months before the 2023 election when his predecessor Jacinda Ardern quit. Labour hasn't surged in popularity since losing that vote.

“Whoever is in government after November 7 … will have to reckon with much more assertive minor parties that want much greater concessions and much more influence than they’ve had in the past,” Thomas said.

Election deadlocks have previously seen the two blocs race to establish a coalition deal by wooing a minor party that holds the balance of power. Recent polls suggest Saturday’s election could yield such a result if The Opportunity Party is elected to Parliament for the first time.

The group's candidates are centrist, socially liberal technocrats who favor a land tax, universal basic income and pro-environment measures. The party’s new leader, 38-year-old Qiulae Wong, who has worked in business but not in politics, has pledged to negotiate first with whichever party wins the most votes if she holds the tiebreaker role.

Luxon has ruled out governing with Opportunity. Analysts say, however, that both major party leaders would likely answer the phone if Wong held the only path to power on election night.

A loss for a single-term government like Luxon’s would be unprecedented in modern times in a country where second terms are all but guaranteed. Voters in the South Pacific nation of 5 million people had before 2023 favored long alternating stretches of National and Labour-led governments.

That was seen as reflecting a largely contented public who believed the country was going in the right direction. The sentiment lingered in New Zealand long after countries such as the United States and Britain began to experience political fracture; but it swung sharply to a negative mood for the first time five years ago in the pandemic era as global tumult increased.

Thomas, the analyst, said that the public is “certainly more polarized than ever.”

Officials aim to release results on election night from 95% of votes cast. A final tally is due on Nov. 27.

Political party billboards are seen in a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

The Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong poses for a portrait outside Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins shakes hands with a supporter at a shopping center while campaigning for election in Waikanae, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

People place their voting papers in ballot boxes at a voting booth in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)