Well I'll be honest I'm no die hard baseball fan or season ticket holder. But every Japanese had pride in the Mariners since at one point (2002-2003) they had at once 3 Japanese players on the roster. Ichiro Suzuki, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Shigetoshi Hasegawa. And the Mariners had Mac Suzuki, Masao Kida, and currently have Kenji Johjima.
I may be lacking research, but my quick tally puts the Mariners on top at having the most Japanese players in their franchise at 6 players, (3 at one time) with the Boston Red Sox at 5 players.
http://www.japaneseballplayers.com/en/
Would it be a coincidence then that the Mariners get Wakamatsu as a manager? I think its almost warranted...finally.
Wakamatsu is the first multiracial Japanese American Manager. Yes, multiracial, not Japanese, not Japanese American. I think its a disservice to all those who are forced to pick a side when labeled as one race when they are in fact multiple. Lets see...examples. Barack Obama & Tiger Woods are not Black, they are part Black. Wakamatsu is half Japanese American and Irish American. Hopefully the US will move more toward giving multiracial issues more air time now that we will have a multiracial President, and stop heralding him as the first Black President.
So how about this. Blacks should stop claiming Obama...and Japanese Americans should stop claiming Wakamatusu. Lets celebrate their hybrid-ness. Its the future.