The last-place Seattle Mariners fired manager Don Wakamatsu yesterday. In his first season with the team in 2009, Wakamatsu led Seattle to an 85-77 record. However, this season hasn’t been up to par with a record of 42-70 (6-22 in July) along with issues with Ken Griffey Jr. and Chone Figgins. These problems caused Don Wakamatsu to be the fall guy for the team. Some people would also point to GM Jack Zduriencik as the problem for constructing the team the way it is, but it’s typically the manager that gets fired.

Don Wakamatsu released this statement yesterday, “I would like to thank the city of Seattle and all the baseball fans here in the Northwest for the great support offered to me during my time as Mariners manager. My single biggest disappointment is that we were not able to finish what we wanted to finish here, bringing a championship club to the fans. I cannot tell you how great the fans were to me, and to my family. The support I received here will always mean a great deal to me.”

Don Wakamatsu fired from Mariners