Ex-Angels GM Jerry Dipoto starts Seattle job by firing Lloyd McClendon

Given the opportunity that he didn’t get with the Angels, Jerry Dipoto decided the best move for the Seattle Mariners was to bring in his own field boss from the start.

That was reasoning behind Dipoto’s decision to fire manager Lloyd McClendon on Friday after two seasons. Instead of moving forward with someone who had differing baseball views, Dipoto will start his tenure in Seattle with someone he chooses.

“Everything we do is as a group,” Dipoto said. “This isn’t an indictment of Lloyd. This is a representation of what we would like to build going forward. That is what we’ll do.”

The Mariners, who had expected to contend in the AL West, finished in fourth place in the division with a 76-86 record. McClendon was 163-161 in his two seasons with the Mariners and was the only African American manager in baseball. Dipoto’s decision means Seattle will have its 10th manager — full-time and interim — since the club’s last playoff appearance in 2001.

Dipoto was hired during the final week of the regular season to replace Jack Zduriencik and said he would take his time evaluating whether McClendon would return. McClendon was under contract for the 2016 season.

Dipoto said he has great respect for McClendon but realized in meetings this week and last that their baseball philosophies would not be the best match going forward.

“This was an opportunity to come into an organization and create a vision and I feel like this is the best way to do that,” Dipoto said.