Before the opening game of their series with the Kansas City Royals Monday night, the Seattle Mariners held a moment of silence for owner Hiroshi Yamauchi, who purchased a majority stake in the ball club back in 1992, preventing the team from moving to Florida. Before the ceremonial silence, a statement was made about the role Yamauchi played for baseball in both Seattle and all of America, as he was also mentioned for being instrumental in bringing Japanese players to the states. In 2001, the Mariners signed Ichiro Suzuki, the first Japanese position player to ever play Major League Baseball.
Mariners Chairman and CEO Howard Lincoln has stated that Nintendo will not sell its stake in the team now that Yamauchi has passed away. Yamauchi died of pneumonia last Thursday at 85 years old. Here is the statement made prior to the moment of silence held by the Mariners:
“Last week the Seattle Mariners organization lost the man responsible for saving baseball here in Seattle. Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi purchased the Mariners franchise in 1992 as a gesture of goodwill to the citizens of the Pacific Northwest. He transformed his great grandfather’s playing card company, Nintendo, into a global video game powerhouse. His gift of baseball to this region will never be forgotten. Mr. Yamauchi will forever be a significant figure in Mariners baseball history. He will also be remembered throughout the game for his role in moving forward the opportunity for Japanese baseball players to play in the United States.”
#respect to that man
Too bad he had to see his company degrading into a steaming pile before he died. Iwata get your shit together!
Nice to see that they honored him.
If I could just do 1/6 of what he did in life I could die with out regrets.
Same. 💋
It’s also sad that he didn’t have his Pnemonia Vaccine, because he may still be alive today. Pnemonia has taken too many extraordinary lives throughout history. Bernie Mac, Geronimo, Freddy Murcury, just to name a few of the many, MANY victims. And now, unfortunately Hiroshi Yamauchi… 💋
While I agree, I have to point out that Freddy Mercury DID have AIDS, which compromised his immune system to the extent that a vaccine might have actually killed him. Just one of those FYI things.
Not only is he the savior of gaming, he’s the savior of the Mariners.
That’s just classy right there. RIP, a legend.
Marty Crain would be very grateful of Hiroshi Yamauchi.
As a big both baseball and Nintendo fan, I can say that Yamauchi-san will be missed.
Agreed.
That’s very cool. I’d ask, “Where are the fucking comments and fans.”… But what do you say to the Mariners reaction?
That’s a good memory of the Nintendo I know.
Couldn’t find live video but here is the announcer saying it:
http://wapc.mlb.com/sf/play/?content_id=30892457&topic_id=0
What a nice story. Also, a bit of history I never knew about. 💋
other note:can i ask? are the marines a good team? dont hate me for asking i just wanna the team of nintendo is good
I think I heard they lost that game and that they aren’t all that good. I’ve only seen one game myself and they had lost too then… I don’t really watch baseball though.
Unfortunately they have a losing record this year: 4th place out of 5 teams in their division. But they have been good before. In 1995 they won their division, and in 2001 they tied the record for most games won in a season, with 116.
Oh, I see. I hope they get better. Ichiro is now playing for the Yankees right?
Yes, and he recently got his 4000th career hit when you combine his American and Japanese totals! Quite impressive.
They haven’t been for a while, since they keep trading the good Japanese players they bring over (Ichiro comes to mind), but they are almost as beloved to me as my Reds, mainly because of the Ken Griffey Jr. shared history they have. My dream World Series is Seattle/Cincinnati so I don’t have to root for either team, just enjoy good ball.
This man is a hero to us gamers and Seattle Mariners fans.
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