Don Wakamatsu Hired As Manager of the Mariners…
The first manager of Asian-American heritage has selected to be at the helm of the Seattle Mariners.
Don Wakamatsu is proud to be the first Asian-American manager in Major League Baseball history. He’s also keenly aware of what his grandparents endured, generations before he took over the Seattle Mariners.
During World War II, the United States government moved his Japanese ancestors across the country from one internment camp to another. Wakamatsu’s father, an iron worker, was born in one.
“I’m proud to represent some of what they went through in their lifetime,” Wakamatsu said. “If I can set a future stepping stone for Japanese-Americans and just the equality in baseball, I’m glad to bear that torch.”
A fourth-generation Japanese-American, the former Oakland Athletics bench coach was introduced on Wednesday as the new manager of the Mariners.
The team has close ties to Japan, from Hiroshi Yamauchi, its titular head and Japanese billionaire, through All-Star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, the franchise cornerstone.
James Wakamatsu, 93, and 91-year-old wife Ruth were hardworking, modest-living fruit growers in Oregon’s Willamette Valley before the U.S. rounded up Japanese living in this country during the war.
He’s got a great story, and he’ll need more than that to help rebuild the Seattle Mariners — one of the worst teams in baseball.
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