What David Aardsma loved most about the Seattle Mariners of 2009 was the hope they carried into 2010.
Granted, there would be changes to the roster next year. Nobody knows if Ken Griffey Jr will return (an educated hunch here: he returns), or if Mike Sweeney or Russell Branyan will come back either. What’s comforting is that guys under contract for 2010 who became not only valuable players but good teammates and friends will return.
Scratch one: catcher Kenji Johjima.
The Mariners announced today that Johjima is opting out of the final two years — at $8 million per year — on his contract and will return to Japan to play closer to family and friends.
But what about his friends over here?
Aardsma, the Mariners’ closer, was surprised today when he heard that Johjima was leaving. Aardsma was among several Mariners who made sure Johjima and fellow Japanese teammate Ichiro Suzuki felt comfortable in the clubhouse. He’d heard the horror stories of last year’s clubhouse conflict, particularly the ill feelings toward the Japanese players, and wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.
“We had an unbelievable clubhouse this year and we tried to make sure everybody was included,” Aardsma said. “Obviously there was the language barrier with Ichiro and Kenji, but we tried to reach out to them more and I think they enjoyed it.”
Aardsma, new to the Mariners this year, also remembers Johjima reaching out to him at spring training to ensure they understood each other as pitcher and catcher. He said there was no language barrier.
“People are going to assume there will be an issue when you don’t speak the same language,” Aardsma said. “But he did a great job of trying to understand us. My first day here, he had his interpreter pull me aside and say Kenji wanted to do everything he could to make sure we worked together, that I could come to him at any time. When somebody tells you that, there’s definitely no issue.”
Aardsma realizes that it was a difficult season for Johjima, who missed time with injuries and also lost much of his playing time to Rob Johnson. But he never had an indication that Johjima would leave.
“It’s hard when you see a guy walk away from the team,” Aardsma said. “You never want to see a part of your team leave. When a guy is a free agent you understand, but right in the middle of their contract it hurts. But when your heart is telling you to do something else, you’ve got to listen to it.”
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