Last Updated on November 19, 2008 12:45 pm by admin
SEATTLE (AP) -Don Wakamatsu became the first Asian-American manager in major league baseball history when he was hired Wednesday by the Seattle Mariners.
The 14th manager in Mariners history, Wakamatsu was bench coach for the Oakland Athletics last season. Before that he spent five years with the Texas Rangers.
The 45-year-old was among a field of seven candidates interviewed by Mariners’ general manager Jack Zdurencik. None of the seven had previous major league managerial experience.
Wakamatsu, a former catcher, spent almost his entire playing career in the minors, except for 18 games with the Chicago White Sox in 1991. His final season in the minors was in 1996 as player-coach of the Mariners’ Double-A Port City farm team.