Don Wakamatsu

Template:Infobox MLB retired Wilbur Donald "Don" Wakamatsu (born February 22, 1963 in Hood River, Oregon) is a former catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. On November 19th, 2008, Wakamatsu was named the manager of the Seattle Mariners , becoming the 16th manager in club history. Born to a Japanese American father and an Irish American mother, he is Yonsei, and the first Asian-American manager in Major League Baseball history. Close friends and players call him "Wok." His father was born in the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, an American concentration camplocated in Northern California near the Oregon border.

Career

Wakamatsu was a three-sport star at the Bay Area's Hayward High School in high school, and ultimately chose baseball over football due to his lack of size. He was also an All Pacific-10 catcher during his last three years at Arizona State University where he was a teammate of Barry Bonds and Alvin Davis. He was the last pick of the 1984 draft, but decided to return to ASU. In 1985, he was drafted in the 11th round by the Cincinnati Reds.

Wakamatsu played 18 games in the majors as a backup catcher for the Chicago White Sox in 1991, working in all of his starts for knuckleballer Charlie Hough. He also caught in the minor leagues from 1985 through 1996.

Following his playing retirement, Wakamatsu managed in the minors for Rookie-Level Peoria (1997) and Double-A El Paso Diablos (1999) and Erie SeaWolves (2000), posting a 215-248 record. In 1998 was named Manager of the Year in the California League, after leading the High Desert Mavericks to the playoffs.

In 2001 and 2002, Wakamatsu was a roving catching instructor in the Anaheim Angels organization. From 2003 to 2006, he was the Texas Rangers' bench coach. During the 2006 season, he served as manager for two games while Buck Showalter was in the hospital with an irregular heartbeat brought about due to dehydration, and in 2007, took the third base coach job when Ron Washington took over as manager.

In 2008 Wakamatsu was the bench coach of the Oakland Athletics. He also has served in the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs organizations, and was a candidate for the head coaching positions in Oakland and Texas in 2006.

Managerial record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1997	AZL Diamondbacks	Arizona League	27-29	4th	Arizona Diamondbacks	none	shared position with Brian Butterfield
1998	High Desert Mavericks	California League	82-58	2nd	Arizona Diamondbacks	Lost in 2nd round
1999	El Paso Diablos	Texas League	64-76	7th	Arizona Diamondbacks
2000	Erie SeaWolves	Eastern League	47-94	12th	Anaheim Angels

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Minor league statistics at The Baseball Cube
• Interview with Don Wakamatsu MyNorthwest.com