Becoming the First Asian American Manager in Major League Baseball History, Playing & Coaching Pro Baseball, and the Oakland Ballers with Don Wakamatsu

The Asian American Athlete

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Don Wakamatsu, the first Asian American manager in Major League Baseball history.
During the episode, Don shares about his family’s background, growing up in the Bay Area, and how he got started playing baseball (2:43).
He talks about his college baseball experience at Arizona State (6:34), getting drafted and becoming a pro baseball player (9:28), and playing in the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox (12:02).
Don discusses his transition from playing to coaching and the start of his coaching career (17:09), the experience of becoming the manager of the Seattle Mariners (17:09), and what it means to him to be the first Asian American manager in MLB history (18:15).
He shares lessons learned from his career (22:20), how he got involved with the Oakland Ballers and his role with the team (31:25), and much more.

Don Wakamatsu - Baseball Reference Profile Page
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