If he is not fired, I will leave the Seattle Mariners head coach, as he has a misunderstanding with his star player.
I will step down as head coach of the Seattle Mariners if he is not sacked because of a disagreement with a key player.
Seattle Don Wakamatsu didn’t lead Seattle to the postseason for the first time since 2001; rather, he lost games at an astounding rate.
Subsequently, the manager of the Mariners lost both Ken Griffey Jr. and Chone Figgins, two franchise icons.
On Monday, more than midway through a season that started with a strengthened roster and great expectations, the last-place Mariners dismissed Wakamatsu.
“I can’t express to you how wonderful the fans were to my family and me. The help I got here will always be very important to me.”
With a 42-70 record to begin the day, the Mariners had the second-worst record in the American League.
After three years and one month, they had a new manager at the beginning of the evening. Hours before a game against Oakland, Triple-A Tacoma’s manager of more than three seasons, Daren Brown, assumed temporary control.
Ichiro Suzuki, a cornerstone and frequent All-Star with the Mariners, expressed frustration through his interpreter. “We’re losing more than just his responsibility.” The entire team is accountable for it.
“I don’t think it’s fair to say the manager’s responsible for taking the blame, because he’s not.”
Pitching coach Rick Adair and bench coach Ty Van Burkleo were also let go by Seattle. Steve Hecht, the team’s performance coach, was also let go.
All in an effort to unite a disjointed clubhouse and a lost squad.
“The reality is, I no longer have faith in Don, Ty, and Rick,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik stated in an attempt to justify Wakamatsu’s departure following one successful season and about half of a disastrous one before the game.
Zduriencik declared, “New leadership is needed and it is needed now.”
As the current season comes to an end, the general manager stated he will probably start speaking with potential permanent managers.
Wakamatsu took over a Seattle club that finished 61-101 in 2008 and led the team to an 85-77 record in his debut season.
When asked if the team was starting over from scratch, Suzuki replied, “That’s the only way we can look at it.”
“We are not back to ‘Square Zero,'” Zduriencik declared. All the same, this season offered us a chance. A lot of factors had to line up for that opportunity to work out, including Cliff Lee’s signing, Chone Figgins’ inclusion, and the seasons of guys I believed were necessary.
“To look around and see so many players having subpar seasons is very disturbing.”
Wakamatsu saw Griffey struggle this season, all the way up to his benching by the manager. Without bidding farewell to most of his Seattle friends, Griffey headed home in a huff to retire in Florida in early June. After a May game, the manager sent an unhappy Bradley home, and the following day, Bradley sought him and the general manager for assistance in resolving emotional problems. Bradley ended up using that as therapy while he was placed on the restricted list for two weeks.
Wakamatsu and Figgins, whom Zduriencik signed to a $36 million free-agent contract prior to the season, have also engaged in a number of public altercations. The latest incident involved swearing and shouting during a game, during which Mariners infielder Jose Lopez had his shirt pulled over his back. That took place in front of half the stadium and a nationwide broadcast audience, inside the home team’s dugout.
When asked how he felt about Wakamatsu’s dismissal, Figgins responded with a smile, a shake of his head, and a courteous “I’m not going to talk about it, man.”
Former minor league catching coordinator for the Mariners, Roger Hansen, assumes the role of bench coach. Big league pitching coach Carl Willis replaces Mariners minor league pitching coordinator Carl Willis.
In addition to the recently sold former AL Cy Young winner Lee and the quick infielder Figgins, Zduriencik added slugger Milton Bradley to the roster during the winter. However, the roster’s construction has proven to be subpar. With the poorest offense in baseball, Seattle is destined to finish 22.5 games behind Texas in the AL West as of Monday.
In the midst of widespread rumors that he would be Seattle’s fall guy, Wakamatsu was questioned last week by the AP about his well-being.
“I’m going to be fine,” Wakamatsu, 47, said. “I’ve been in this game a long time, and I have a lot of people pulling for me—most of all my family.”
Since accepting Seattle’s job offer in November 2008, he has gone 127–147. Among Mariners managers, his winning percentage of.464 is tied for seventh place.
When Oakland manager Bob Geren spoke with his close buddy Wakamatsu on Monday afternoon, he “said he was OK.”
Wakamatsu and Geren used to reside close to one another in the Phoenix region, where their children spent a significant portion of their formative years. During the baseball offseason, Geren and Wakamatsu co-coached the Ahwatukee Bandits, a winter youth team.
Brown has been a member of the Mariners organization for ten years. With one year remaining on his contract after the 2002 season, Lou Piniella left Seattle, becoming the 43-year-old manager’s seventh overall.
Wakamatsu, the sixth, appeared to be heading out after the squad’s worst July in team history (6-22).
Zduriencik remarked on Monday, “I appreciate the continued support of our fans,” and he acknowledged that he bears “full responsibility” for the Mariners’ collapse.
