Seattle Mariners name Don Wakamatsu as manager
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Bill Jempty | Wednesday, November 19, 2008 |
He beat out seven other candidates for the job. From AP-
SEATTLE – Don Wakamatsu became the first Asian-American manager in major league baseball history when he was hired Wednesday by the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners’ 14th manager, Wakamatsu was bench coach for the Oakland Athletics last season. Before that he spent five years with the Texas Rangers.
“When I started this process, there were some key attributes we were looking for,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement. “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. We wanted someone that both the community and the players could embrace. We wanted someone who sees the big picture and cares about the players and wants to win. Don embodies all of those traits.”
The 45-year-old was among a field of seven candidates interviewed by Zduriencik. None of the seven had previous major league managerial experience. The overwhelming fan favorite was former Seattle second baseman and current Chicago White Sox bench coach Joey Cora.
Will Wakamatsu, who played only 18 games on the ML level as ballplayer back in 1991(And I remember him from Strat-O-Matic baseball) fare any better than the other recent Mariner managers? Seattle lost 101 games last year. I see Wakamatsu as having a lot of work to do.
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