Wakamatsu finally getting some national attention
Friday, October 23, 2009 | 1:03 pm
On the first Sunday in October, I wrote in my weekly column in the newspaper that the Mariners' Don Wakamatsu deserved to be the American League manager of the year.
At the time, nobody with the national media even included Wakamatsu in the discussion of manager-of-the-year candidates. That absolutely floored me because few teams in the past century improved by as many games from one year to the next as the Mariners did this year. Those of us who cover the Mariners spent the better part of the year, since the day the Mariners hired Wakamatsu last Nov. 19, getting an inside look at how he not only put together a staff and team but also restored a positive attitude to a wreck of a clubhouse.
In their defense, the national media wasn't exposed to what those who covered the Mariners on a regular basis saw. From the East Coast, the story that stood out was Mike Scioscia and what he did to help the Angels deal with the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart.
But guess what? Someone is paying attention to Wakamatsu. Former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire wrote yesterday on MLB.com about the job Wakamatsu did this season. He didn't come right out and say he deserved to be manager of the year, but Claire gave Wakamatsu high marks.
We'll learn just how much credit Wakamatsu gets on Nov. 18. That's when the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce results of its voting for the AL manager of the year.
At the time, nobody with the national media even included Wakamatsu in the discussion of manager-of-the-year candidates. That absolutely floored me because few teams in the past century improved by as many games from one year to the next as the Mariners did this year. Those of us who cover the Mariners spent the better part of the year, since the day the Mariners hired Wakamatsu last Nov. 19, getting an inside look at how he not only put together a staff and team but also restored a positive attitude to a wreck of a clubhouse.
In their defense, the national media wasn't exposed to what those who covered the Mariners on a regular basis saw. From the East Coast, the story that stood out was Mike Scioscia and what he did to help the Angels deal with the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart.
But guess what? Someone is paying attention to Wakamatsu. Former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire wrote yesterday on MLB.com about the job Wakamatsu did this season. He didn't come right out and say he deserved to be manager of the year, but Claire gave Wakamatsu high marks.
We'll learn just how much credit Wakamatsu gets on Nov. 18. That's when the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce results of its voting for the AL manager of the year.
Most recent Mariners blog posts
- Nine years later, Mariners finally will get their trip to Japan Sep. 28
- Wedge: Mariners are better for what they experienced this year Sep. 27
- Three more games and a week of meetings to prepare for the offseason Sep. 26
- Multi-year deal keeps Mariners games on 710 radio Sep. 20
- Wedge to young Mariners: Get in better shape next year, or else Sep. 18
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