By: Tyler Ward
The Seattle Mariners announced Monday that they have fired manager Don Wakamatsu. The Mariners, once again, are having a horrendous season and have not made the playoffs since they won 116 games in 2001. Wakamatsu was believed to be Seattle's savior and lead them to the postseason - but, it didn't turn out that way as the Mariners are looking at an under .500 record. Daren Brown, a Triple-A manager, will supplant Wakamatsu and become the Mariners' interim manager.
Seattle entered Monday with a 42-70 record, the third worst record in all of baseball, only behind the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles. The Mariners started off the season with high hopes, but they have been dashed with poor pitching and inexcusable hitting. In the offseason, they signed infielder Chone Figgins and brought back Ken Griffey Jr., but they were not able to save Wakamatsu's job. Last December, the Mariners also acquired veteran pitcher Cliff Lee, but dealt him to Texas less than a month ago. Additionally, catcher Kenji Johjima announced last October that he would opt out of the final two years of his contract and go back to Japan.
"I would like to thank the city of Seattle and all the baseball fans here in the Northwest for the great support offered to me during my time as Mariners manager. My single biggest disappointment is that we were not able to finish what we wanted to finish here, bringing a championship club to the fans," Wakamatsu stated. "I cannot tell you how great the fans were to me, and to my family. The support I received here will always mean a great deal to me."
In addition to firing Wakamatsu, the Mariners also let go of bench coach Ty Van Burkleo, pitching coach Rick Adair, and performance coach Steve Hecht.
General Manager Jack Zduriencik publically stated his displeasure in the way the Mariners have been operating under Wakamatsu. It has been hard for the Mariners to actually focus on playing baseball this season, with distractions including Griffey's "nap time" escapade and Milton Bradley's emotional issues. Chone Figgins and Wakamatsu have also had several run-ins with one another this season.
The disgruntled GM said in a statement, "I don't think we are back to 'Square Zero.' However, this season presented an opportunity for us. In that opportunity, a lot of things had to fall into place -- with the acquisition of Cliff Lee, with the addition of Chone Figgins, and players I thought had to have good seasons. To look around and see so many players having subpar seasons is very disturbing."
Wakamatsu previously spent 2003-06 as the Texas Rangers' bench coach - he was also the Rangers' third base coach in 2007 when current manager Ron Washington took over. In 2008, he was hired to become the Oakland Athletics' bench coach.
On November 19, 2008, the Mariners named Wakamatsu as their next manager, after the Mariners suffered one of their worst seasons ever, 61-101. He also became the first Asian-American manager in Major League Baseball history. In his managerial debut season in 2009, Wakamatsu led the team to an 85-77 record and a second place finish in the AL West. Unfortunately, the Mariners will not have that type of season this year, as they are currently 27 games under .500.
It is unclear if Wakamatsu will land another managerial job, but he will more than likely receive some type of job at the Major League level. The Mariners are currently looking for their next manager - Buck Showalter could have been a candidate, but was hired away by the Orioles almost two weeks ago.
