| Don Wakamatsu | |
|---|---|
 Wakamatsu with the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Catcher /Manager | |
| Born: (1963-02-22)February 22, 1963 (age 62) Hood River, Oregon, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 22, 1991, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 5, 1991, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .226 |
| Hits | 7 |
| Runs | 2 |
| Managerial record | 130–154 |
| Winning % | .458 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu (born February 22, 1963) is an American former professionalbaseball player,scout, coach, andmanager. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the1985 Major League Baseball draft by theCincinnati Reds. He played as acatcher inMajor League Baseball for theChicago White Sox. He served as the bench coach of theTexas Rangers from 2018 through 2021. He was hired as bench coach of theKansas City Royals for the 2014 season. He was the manager of theSeattle Mariners for the 2009 season, as well as the majority of the 2010 season.[1] He was theToronto Blue Jays' bench coach for 2011 and 2012, after which he was replaced byDeMarlo Hale.[2][3] During the 2013 season he worked as a scout for theNew York Yankees in theDallas/Fort Worth area.[4] He is currently the first-ever executive vice president of baseball operations with theOakland Ballers.[5]
Wakamatsu was a three-sport star at theBay Area'sHayward High School in California, and ultimately chose baseball overfootball due to his lack of size. He and formerOakland Raiders head coachJack Del Rio were baseball and football teammates.[6]
He was also an All-Pac-10 catcher during his last three years atArizona State University, where he was a teammate ofBarry Bonds andAlvin Davis. He was drafted by theNew York Yankees as the last pick of the1984 Major League Baseball draft, but decided to return to ASU.
Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the1985 Major League Baseball draft by theCincinnati Reds. He reached the Double-A level before the Reds released him before the 1989 season.
Shortly after the Reds released him, he signed with theChicago White Sox, who assigned him to the Double-ABirmingham Barons. He spent 1990 and most of 1991 with the Triple-AVancouver Canadians before getting his only call to the big leagues in May 1991. Wakamatsu played 18 games in the majors as a backupcatcher for the White Sox in 1991,[7] working in all of his starts forknuckleballerCharlie Hough.
After the 1991 season the White Sox granted Wakamatsufree agency, and he signed with theLos Angeles Dodgers shortly after. He spent 1992–1996 playing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in the Dodgers,Texas Rangers,Cleveland Indians,Seattle Mariners andMilwaukee Brewers organizations before his playing career ended at age 33.
Following his playing retirement, Wakamatsu became a minor league manager in theArizona Diamondbacks system, managing theArizona League Diamondbacks in 1997, the Class-AHigh Desert Mavericks in 1998, and the Double-AEl Paso Diablos in 1999. In 1998 he was named Manager of the Year in theCalifornia League,[7] after leading theHigh Desert Mavericks to the playoffs.
He spent 2000 managing theErie SeaWolves, theAnaheim Angels' Double-A affiliate, and then the next two seasons as a roving catching instructor in the Angels organization.
From 2003 to 2006, Wakamatsu was theTexas Rangers' bench coach. During the 2006 season, he served as manager for two games whileBuck Showalter was in the hospital with an irregular heartbeat brought about due to dehydration, and in 2007, took the third base coach job whenRon Washington took over as manager. He spent 2008 as the bench coach of theOakland Athletics.
On November 19, 2008, Wakamatsu was named the manager of the Seattle Mariners, replacing interim managerJim Riggleman, and becoming the firstAsian-American manager in the majors.[8]
.jpg)
On April 6, 2009, Wakamatsu won his managerial debut as the Mariners beat theMinnesota Twins 6–1 onOpening Day.
Later in the season, Wakamatsu was officially selected as a coach underTampa Bay Rays managerJoe Maddon for the2009 MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis along withKansas City Royals managerTrey Hillman on June 17, 2009.[9]
Fred Claire, former baseball executive and current writer forMLB.com, stated that Wakamatsu and his staff, composed of bench coachTy Van Burkleo, pitching coachRick Adair, hitting coachAlan Cockrell, first base coachLee Tinsley, bullpen coachJohn Wetteland and performance coachSteve Hecht, deserved credit for a 24-game improvement. Claire wrote this about Wakamatsu:
It is the relationships that Wakamatsu has built during his time in baseball that defines him best. He was somewhat of an unknown to the public when he was hired as the Mariners' manager last November, but he is well-known and highly respected within the game.[10]
On May 20, 2010, during a game against theToronto Blue Jays, Wakamatsu received his first careerejection. As of June 12, 2010, he had a career total of two ejections.
On August 9, 2010, amidst one of the worst seasons in team history, Wakamatsu was fired as Mariners manager.[1] He finished with a record of 127 wins and 147 losses.[11]
On November 8, 2010, Wakamatsu was announced as the newbench coach for theToronto Blue Jays, under new managerJohn Farrell.[2]
During 2013, Wakamatsu worked as a professional talentscout for the New York Yankees.[12]
On October 25, 2013, Wakamatsu was announced as the newbench coach for theKansas City Royals.[13]
On April 19, 2015, Wakamatsu was one of five Royals (also pitching coachDave Eiland, managerNed Yost, pitcherKelvin Herrera and shortstopAlcides Escobar) to be ejected in a game against theOakland Athletics. Two games prior, Escobar had been injured following an attempt by A's third basemanBrett Lawrie to break up a double play. Considering the slide a dirty one, Royals pitcherYordano Ventura hit Lawrie in the elbow the following game and was immediately ejected. In the series finale, A's pitcherScott Kazmir hitLorenzo Cain in the foot and warnings were given. Yost and Eiland were immediately ejected for arguing. Later in the 8th inning, Kelvin Herrera threw a 100 mph fastball behind Lawrie and a trio of ejections followed (Herrera, Wakamatsu and Escobar). The Royals would end up winning the game 4–2 despite the ejections.[14] Wakamatsu was actually ejected twice, as when a warning has been issued, the pitcher and manager are automatically ejected. Wakamatsu was the acting manager. This was the cause of his first ejection, the second being him arguing with the home plate umpire.
The Rangers hired Wakamatsu as their bench coach before the 2018 season.[15] When managerJeff Banister was fired in September 2018, Wakamatsu took over as interim manager.[16] He finished with a record of three wins and seven losses.[11] He returned to his position as bench coach for the following season.[17] Wakamatsu was let go by Texas following the 2021 season.[18]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| SEA | 2009 | 162 | 85 | 77 | .525 | 3rd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
| SEA | 2010 | 112 | 42 | 70 | .375 | Fired | – | – | – | – |
| SEA total | 274 | 127 | 147 | .464 | – | – | – | |||
| TEX | 2018 | 10 | 3 | 7 | .300 | 5th in AL West | – | – | – | – |
| TEX total | 10 | 3 | 7 | .300 | – | – | – | |||
| Total[11] | 284 | 130 | 154 | .458 | – | – | – | |||
In 2023, Wakamatsu was hired as the executive vice president of theOakland Ballers, a new team in the independentPioneer Baseball League created to replace theOakland Athletics after theteam's relocation toLas Vegas.[19]
.jpg)
Wakamatsu is married to Iowa native Laura Lynn Mullin. He resides inNorth Richland Hills, Texas with wife, and their three children, sons Jacob and Lucas and daughter Jadyn. Both his sons are also baseball players. Jake was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 48th round of the2011 MLB Draft and played in the Kansas City Royals organization. Luke was drafted in the 20th round of the2015 MLB Draft.[20]
Born to aJapanese American ironworker father and anIrish American dental assistant[21] mother,[22] he isfourth generation Japanese American[23] and the first Asian-American manager inMajor League Baseball history.[24] His paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Japan toOrting, Washington in the early 20th century and settled inHood River, Oregon, where Wakamatsu was born. His father was born in theTule Lake War Relocation Center, a Japanese Americaninternment camp located in Northern California near the Oregon border.[21] Close friends and players call himWak (pronounced "wok").
· Baseball Almanac| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | AZL Diamondbacks Manager 1997 (withBrian Butterfield) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | High Desert Mavericks Manager 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | El Paso Diablos Manager 1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Erie SeaWolves Manager 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Texas Rangers Bench Coach 2003–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Texas Rangers Third Base Coach 2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Oakland Athletics Bench Coach 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Toronto Blue Jaysbench coach 2011–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Kansas City Royalsbench coach 2014–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Texas Rangersbench coach 2018–2021 | Succeeded by |
