Don Wakamatsu: First Manager Of Asian American Descent In MLB

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Peeped this down at SFGate as I've been catching up on news and damn - that's some pretty cool news and it just goes to show you that after year and years, and well - a lot of years - we're finally making some headway:

Wakamatsu, 45, got his start coaching in the Seattle system 13 seasons ago, and he told The Chronicle, "It's like it's meant to be. It's coming full circle."

Wakamatsu spent the past season as the A's bench coach and he was well respected by the players. Third baseman Eric Chavez recently said that Wakamatsu was right at the top of the list of the best coaches he's ever had.

Wakamatsu and A's catcher Kurt Suzuki were so close that this month, Suzuki jokingly told Wakamatsu he planned to call the Mariners and bad-mouth him to try to prevent him from leaving Oakland.

Suzuki compared Wakamatsu to the mentor in "The Karate Kid," saying, "He's like the Mr. Miyagi of baseball."
I guess when you say it in this context - maybe it's not so bad after all.