Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik will receive the Negro League Baseball Museum’s annual Andrew “Rube” Foster award on Saturday, honoring him as its American League executive of the year.
Foster played and managed in the Negro League, and later was an executive who organized the Negro National League. In 1981 he became the first person from the Negro League to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a pioneer or executive.
Zduriencik will receive the award Saturday in Kansas City at the 10th annual Legacy Awards recognizing major league players, managers and executives. Because of that, he won’t attend the Mariners’ FanFest this weekend at Safeco Field.
“This is a tremendous honor, and I will accept it on behalf of the entire Mariners organization,” Zduriencik said in a release from the team. “Rube Foster is a true legend in the game of baseball and to receive an award named after him and his legacy is a humbling honor. There are few things that would cause me to miss the Mariners FanFest event, but this is certainly one of them.”
Three weeks to first workout
Spring training begins three weeks from today when the Mariners’ pitchers and catchers hold their first workout in Peoria, Ariz., and manager Don Wakamatsu said he and his coaches will talk one-on-one with the players just as they did last year.
Those sessions last year helped Wakamatsu and his staff, all new to the organization, get to know their players and learn what does and doesn’t motivate them. This year’s meetings will be an introduction for the new players and a refresher for those who return.
“The guys we’ve already done it with, it will be more of a catching up,” Wakamatsu said. “We’ll talk a little about last year and see where their minds are, what their goals are.”
Between now and the beginning of camp, Wakamatsu said he’ll spend a considerable amount of time talking with new third base coach Mike Brumley about his role. Brumley will be responsible for infield play — everything from individual improvement to defensive fundamentals — besides his duties as third base coach.
“Mike and I will talk a lot because he’s got the newest role, and his role is pretty intensive,” Wakamatsu said. “The rest of what we’ll do (before camp) is fact-finding on the new players that we have. You’ve got to try and make sense of their tendencies for your own benefit, so you’re not caught off guard.”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog
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