Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu (born February 22, 1963) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player,

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

, coach, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. He served as the bench coach of the Texas Rangers from 2018 through 2021. He was hired as bench coach of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

for the 2014 season. He was the manager of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

for the 2009 season, as well as the majority of the 2010 season. He was the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

' bench coach for 2011 and 2012, after which he was replaced by DeMarlo Hale. During the 2013 season he worked as a scout for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He is currently the first-ever executive vice president of baseball operations with the Oakland Ballers.

Playing career

High school and collegiate

Wakamatsu was a three-sport star at the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

's Hayward High School in California, and ultimately chose baseball over

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

due to his lack of size. He and former

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

head coach

Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Paris Musketeers of the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football for the USC Trojans ...

were baseball and football teammates. He was also an All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

catcher during his last three years at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, where he was a teammate of

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

and

Alvin Davis Alvin Glenn Davis (born September 9, 1960), nicknamed "Mr. Mariner", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He played eight of his nine seasons for the Seattle Mariners and won the American League Rookie ...

. He was drafted by the

as the last pick of the

1984 Major League Baseball draft The 1984 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1984. The draft saw the New York Mets select Shawn Abner first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Other n ...

, but decided to return to ASU.

Professional

Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the

. He reached the Double-A level before the Reds released him before the 1989 season. Shortly after the Reds released him, he signed with the

, who assigned him to the Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

. He spent 1990 and most of 1991 with the Triple-A

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bail ...

before getting his only call to the big leagues in May 1991. Wakamatsu played 18 games in the majors as a backup

for the White Sox in 1991, working in all of his starts for

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch (baseball), pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from Laminar flow, lamin ...

Charlie Hough Charles Oliver Hough (; born January 5, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) knuckleball pitcher and coach who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Florida Marlins from 1970 to 1994. Pl ...

. After the 1991 season the White Sox granted Wakamatsu

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, and he signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

shortly after. He spent 1992–1996 playing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in the Dodgers, Texas Rangers,

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

organizations before his playing career ended at age 33.

Coaching career

Minor leagues

Following his playing retirement, Wakamatsu became a minor league manager in the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

system, managing the

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields a ...

in 1997, the Class-A

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight d ...

in 1998, and the Double-A

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

in 1999. In 1998 he was named Manager of the Year in the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

, after leading the

to the playoffs. He spent 2000 managing the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

, the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

' Double-A affiliate, and then the next two seasons as a roving catching instructor in the Angels organization.

Major leagues

From 2003 to 2006, Wakamatsu was the Texas Rangers' bench coach. During the 2006 season, he served as manager for two games while

Buck Showalter William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager. He served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2003–2006), Baltimore Oriol ...

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 Ronald Washington (born April 29, 1952) is an American professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager, Coach (baseball), coach, and former infielder. Since November 2023, Washington has been the manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Major Leagu ...

took over as manager. He spent 2008 as the bench coach of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. On November 19, 2008, Wakamatsu was named the manager of the Seattle Mariners, replacing interim manager

Jim Riggleman James David Riggleman (born November 9, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) manager (baseball), manager and bench coach who coached with several teams between 1989 and 2019. During his playing career, Riggleman was an infield ...

, and becoming the first

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for ...

manager in the majors. On April 6, 2009, Wakamatsu won his managerial debut as the Mariners beat the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

6–1 on

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

. Later in the season, Wakamatsu was officially selected as a coach under

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

manager

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager (baseball), manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing ...

for the

2009 MLB All-Star Game The 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 80th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14, 2009 ...

in St. Louis along with

manager Trey Hillman on June 17, 2009. Fred Claire, former baseball executive and current writer for MLB.com, stated that Wakamatsu and his staff, composed of bench coach Ty Van Burkleo, pitching coach Rick Adair, hitting coach Alan Cockrell, first base coach Lee Tinsley, bullpen coach John Wetteland and performance coach Steve Hecht, deserved credit for a 24-game improvement. Claire wrote this about Wakamatsu: On May 20, 2010, during a game against the

, Wakamatsu received his first career ejection. As of June 12, 2010, he had a career total of two ejections. On August 9, 2010, amidst one of the worst seasons in team history, Wakamatsu was fired as Mariners manager. He finished with a record of 127 wins and 147 losses. On November 8, 2010, Wakamatsu was announced as the new

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the

, under new manager John Farrell. During 2013, Wakamatsu worked as a professional talent

for the New York Yankees. On October 25, 2013, Wakamatsu was announced as the new

for the

. On April 19, 2015, Wakamatsu was one of five Royals (also pitching coach Dave Eiland, manager Ned Yost, pitcher Kelvin Herrera and shortstop Alcides Escobar) to be ejected in a game against the

. Two games prior, Escobar had been injured following an attempt by A's third baseman Brett Lawrie to break up a double play. Considering the slide a dirty one, Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura hit Lawrie in the elbow the following game and was immediately ejected. In the series finale, A's pitcher Scott Kazmir hit Lorenzo Cain in the foot and warnings were given. Yost and Eiland were immediately ejected for arguing. Later in the 8th inning, Kelvin Herrera threw a 100 mph fastball behind Lawrie and a trio of ejections followed (Herrera, Wakamatsu and Escobar). The Royals would end up winning the game 4–2 despite the ejections. Wakamatsu was actually ejected twice, as when a warning has been issued, the pitcher and manager are automatically ejected. Wakamatsu was the acting manager. This was the cause of his first ejection, the second being him arguing with the home plate umpire. The Rangers hired Wakamatsu as their bench coach before the 2018 season. When manager Jeff Banister was fired in September 2018, Wakamatsu took over as interim manager. He finished with a record of three wins and seven losses. He returned to his position as bench coach for the following season. Wakamatsu was let go by Texas following the 2021 season.

Managerial record

Independent baseball

In 2023, Wakamatsu was hired as the executive vice president of the Oakland Ballers, a new team in the independent

Pioneer Baseball League The Pioneer Baseball League (also known as simply the Pioneer League) is a professional baseball league based in the Western United States. It operates as one of four Major League Baseball (MLB) Partner Leagues in the American independent bas ...

created to replace the

after the team's relocation to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Personal life

Wakamatsu is married to Iowa native Laura Lynn Mullin. He resides in North Richland Hills, Texas with wife, and their three children, sons Jacob and Lucas and daughter Jadyn. Both his sons are also baseball players. Jake was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 48th round of the 2011 MLB Draft and currently plays in the Kansas City Royals organization. Luke was drafted in the 20th round of the

2015 MLB Draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. Born to a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

ironworker father and an

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

dental assistant mother, he is fourth generation Japanese American and the first Asian-American manager in

history. His paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Japan to

Orting, Washington Orting is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,041 at the 2020 census. It is located between the Puyallup and Carbon rivers in central Pierce County, approximately northwest of Mount Rainier. History The ...

in the early 20th century and settled in

Hood River, Oregon Hood River is a city in and the county seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,313. It is the only city in O ...

, where Wakamatsu was born. His father was born in the

Tule Lake War Relocation Center The Tule Lake War Relocation Center, also known as the Tule Lake Segregation Center, was an Internment of Japanese Americans, American concentration camp located in Modoc County, California, Modoc and Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou count ...

, a Japanese American

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

located in Northern California near the Oregon border. Close friends and players call him Wak (pronounced "wok").

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakamatsu, Don 1963 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American baseball players of Japanese descent American expatriate baseball players in Canada 20th-century American sportsmen American people of Irish descent Arizona State University alumni Baseball coaches from Oregon Baseball players from Oregon Billings Mustangs players Birmingham Barons players Canton-Akron Indians players Caribes de Oriente players Cedar Rapids Reds players Chattanooga Lookouts players Chicago White Sox players Kansas City Royals coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Yankees scouts Oakland Athletics coaches Oklahoma City 89ers players Sportspeople from Hood River, Oregon People from North Richland Hills, Texas Port City Roosters players Seattle Mariners managers Sportspeople from Hayward, California Baseball players from Alameda County, California Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Texas Rangers coaches Texas Rangers managers Toronto Blue Jays coaches Vancouver Canadians players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players Hayward High School (California) alumni Oakland Ballers personnel