SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The defining moments of Bryan Woo's spectacular 2025 were those that no one outside Seattle’s clubhouse saw.
In the public eye, there was the All-Star selection, the fifth-place finish for the American League Cy Young Award and the franchise record of pitching through the sixth inning in 25 straight starts to begin the season.
But what took place behind the scenes resonated even more, and could further his evolution into one of the sport’s elite starting pitchers: He found his voice in the clubhouse, and with it, carved out a blossoming leadership role for a team with World Series aspirations.
“I think it's growing every day,” Woo said. “I'm still trying to learn what my goal is, beyond being on the field, and how I can help the team in other ways?
“Baseball is such a different sport that it's not like ‘rah, rah.’ There's no giving motivational speeches before the game and things like that. Leadership is so different in baseball. It comes in so many different ways, and learning how that can work for you. And it's got to be real. It's got to be authentic. It's got to be something that resonates with other guys.”
For a player who just turned 26, and who three years ago knew he’d break camp at Double-A Arkansas, the maturation has marveled the organization. Woo, who made his Cactus League debut on Wednesday vs. the Royals, entered this Spring Training speaking of those World Series ambitions -- not as a goal, but an expectation.
But this bold bravado truly began midway through 2025.
During a rough stretch, and after Woo was selected to the All-Star Game, pitching coach Pete Woodworth asked if Woo could say a few words during the daily meeting. Typically, these powwows were exclusively for relievers, but all arms were on deck that day.
Woo spoke candidly about the state of Seattle’s pitching staff, calling upon an effort of accountability -- himself included. Again, this was a voice who’d yet to pitch professionally when George Kirby made his MLB debut, was still at Cal Poly when Logan Gilbert made his debut and was just 16 years old when Luis Castillo made his debut.
“You could see, for him, it was like, ‘OK, I have this tool now,’” Woodworth said. “And then it was just about him finding the times and places to use it.”
No moment was more trying for the Mariners -- and telling in Woo’s maturation -- than when they were swept in Tampa from Sept. 1-3. Seattle was clinging to the final AL Wild Card spot by 1 1/2 games and appeared to be amid the all-too-familiar spiral that sank the club in each of the previous two seasons.
Woo was on the mound for one of those losses amidst a 1-6 start to that road trip, and as the lights came on for his postgame interview, he unloaded -- in a blunt yet professional way. And that was after a closed-doors meeting earlier in the day.
“By the time we got to that point and needed to have another real conversation, he’d already gotten the reps,” Woodworth said. “It wasn't the first.”
It might be a stretch to say that was the turning point in the Mariners rebounding to finish 17-4 and win the AL West. But it was certainly an inflection point.
“We don’t finish the way we did unless a few guys step up and speak up,” Woodworth said. “And he was one of them.”
This spring, Woo continues to embody those characteristics, and beyond his words.
He turned down an invitation from Team USA to pitch in the World Baseball Classic because, he said, “my priority is to be healthy for our season.” After stints on the injured list in each of his first two seasons and a pectoral strain last September that sidelined him for most of the Mariners’ playoff run, his individual goal is to pitch 200 innings.
The follow-up act to a breakout 2025 will be fascinating to follow -- but perhaps not as much as his evolving voice as a clubhouse spokesman. Productivity breeds credibility, and Woo has achieved both in big ways.
“It's got to develop naturally,” Woo said. “You have to want to do it. ... I feel like I just kind of found a little pocket that works for me and is true to me, and I'm just trying to grow through that.”