Mariners May Open ‘97 In Japan Against Tigers
The Seattle Mariners will open their 1997 season in Japan, if a plan being negotiated clears some final hurdles.
The longest road trip in baseball history probably would involve games with the Detroit Tigers. It moved closer to reality this week when Major League Baseball officials approved for the first time the idea of scheduling regular-season games abroad.
Paul Isaki, Mariners vice president for business development, said the Japan trip is contingent on approval by the players union and final agreement from Major League Baseball’s international division.
“We have been told by Baseball International all along that it was a priority to assist the Mariners in Japan,” Isaki said.
Isaki noted the Mariners already have a solid Japanese connection - the team’s majority owner is Hiroshi Yamauchi of Nintendo Co. Ltd., Kyoto - as well as having a Japanese minor league player in pitcher Mac Suzuki and superstars Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson.
The Tigers are attractive to Japanese audiences because they have Cecil Fielder, who hit 38 homers in 1989 for Hanshin in Japan’s Central League.
“Obviously there is interest in the Mariners because of our success last season, on top of the interest because of the Nintendo ownership,” Isaki said. “That closely links Japan to Major League Baseball.”
Mariners fall
San Diego, using just a handful of regulars, pounded out 17 hits while shelling Seattle’s Sterling Hitchcock as the Padres beat the Mariners 11-4 in Peoria, Ariz.
Seattle, with its projected opening-night lineup on the field and No. 2 starter Hitchcock on the mound, took a first-inning lead on Darren Braggs’ leadoff home run. But the Padres rattled Hitchcock for four runs in the second inning on Brad Ausmus’ three-run homer and Jody Reed’s RBI single. Leading 4-2 after a homer by Seattle’s Russ Davis in the second, San Diego batted around in the fourth. The Padres scored four runs on six hits while chasing Hitchcock.
Notes
Today’s a big day for Greg Pirkl. The first baseman could be claimed by another big-league team or, by mid-afternoon, may have cleared waivers. If he does, he has the right to decline a minor-league assignment from Seattle and become a free agent. No matter what the Mariners tell him, it’s unlikely he’ll return to the team’s farm system.
Trade talks with New York about Felix Fermin broke down and it appears Fermin will be on Seattle’s opening-day roster, since the team won’t eat his $850,000 salary by releasing him.
Jay Buhner fled Arizona, more than willing to forget his spring numbers: a .194 average, one home run and nine RBIs in 22 games. “He’s the one bat we have to get going,” Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. “He’s not staying back on the ball. But sometimes when you get into cooler weather, when the adrenaline starts pumping, things change.”
Pitching matchups for the season-opening series with the White Sox: Alex Fernandez vs. Randy Johnson on Sunday, Hitchcock vs. Wilson Alvarez on Tuesday, Kevin Tapani vs. Bob Wolcott on Wednesday.