Report: Mariners to name Wakamatsu as manager
11/19/2008
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SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle Mariners made history Wednesday
when they named former Oakland Athletics bench coach Don
Wakamatsu as their new manager. Wakamatsu, 45, is the first Asian-American skipper in major
league history and will be managing in a city with a large Asian
population. "If I can set some type of stepping stone for future
Japanese-Americans, I'm glad to bear the burden of that torch,"
he said Wednesday during a news conference when he was
officially introduced. Wakamatsu was one of seven finalists interviewed by Mariners
general manager Jack Zduriencik in the past four days. "This is something I've looked forward to for a long time,"
Wakamatsu said. "It is a tremendous opportunity and I can't wait
to get going with Jack and his group as we start working on the
2009 season." However, he will have his work cut out as the Mariners are
coming off a 101-loss season. Seattle (61-101) became the first
team with a $100 million payroll to lose 100 games. The lackluster play prompted ownership to make drastic moves.
Seattle fired both general manager Bob Bavasi and manager John
McLaren at midseason after the Mariners posted a 25-47 mark. Jim Riggleman was named interim manger on June 20, while Lee
Pelekoudas took over for Bavasi and cut loose underachievers
like Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro. Wakamatsu is the Mariners' fourth manager in the last two
seasons. McLaren became the Mariners' manager by default when
good friend Mike Hargrove resigned in the midst of an eight-game
winning streak midway through the 2007 season. A former catcher, Wakamatsu was with the Texas Rangers as a
bench coach and third base coach from 2003-2007 before serving
as the A's bench coach this past season. "When I started this process, there were some key attributes we
were looking for," Zduriencik said. "We wanted energy, a passion
and the skills to translate that passion to the players. We
wanted leadership, a presence that could help us as we define
the 'Mariners Way' to win." Wakamatsu said his best traits are communication and leadership. "Those two things go hand in hand," he said. "I think they are
two most important things no matter what business you are in.
People need to know where you stand." Wakamatsu spent 12 seasons in the minor leagues with seven
organizations from 1985-1996 and had a brief stint with the
Chicago White Sox in 1991. He ended his playing career as a
player-coach with Seattle's Class AA Port City affiliate in
1996.
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