Seattle Mariners acquire Munenori Kawasaki – MLB News
The Seattle Mariners are had another surprise to offer this week when they signed Munenori Kawasaki to a Minor League contract in a move that stands to offer something promising for the team in the years ahead.
A Japanese infielder, Kawasaki enjoys an illustrious career at home where he has been endowed with numerous distinctions. Among other things, he has the record of having been an eight-time All-Star.
The news, while exciting for the fans of the Seattle Mariners, was also a welcoming one for the team manager Jack Zduriencik. In order to complete him for the Major League, the club now wants to give him a chance in the Minors.
"Being able to add a player with the resume that Kawasaki possesses is very good news for the Mariners,” said general manager Jack Zduriencik. “We are looking forward to having him compete for a major league position in spring training. He is a high-energy
player with a record of success in Japan.”
Representing Fukuoka in Japan, the player has also remained a two-time glove winner in the Japan Pacific League. The prime reason why he has risen to prominence and eventually drew the attention of the Seattle Mariners was the consistency he had put on display.
For instance, he appeared in a total of 1,145 games where he scored 631 runs with an amazing average of .294. The stolen bases he had stood at 262 with no less than 65 triples to his credit.
Taken together, one of the most exciting seasons of the player turned out to be the one in 2011 whereby he led his team the Softbank Hawks to the victory stand. The win was memorable and epoch-making because it came after years with a .267 average that Kawasaki
maintained.
Kawasaki has the distinctive merit of being one of the best players for Japan as he had remained a part of the gold-medal winning World Baseball Classic squad. In all, it will be his ability to repeat the same performance in the Minor and Major League once
he formally joins the Mariners.
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