Don Wakamatsu will be named Mariners' manager

Oakland Athletics bench coach Don Wakamatsu is to be introduced to Seattle tomorrow as the new manager of the Mariners.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik this afternoon told the six other candidates for the job that he was going in a different direction. Wakamatsu, 45, becomes the first Asian American ever to manage in the major leagues.

The Mariners revealed this afternoon, after the Times reported Wakamatsu had indeed been hired, that the team will announce the appointment tomorrow. Wakamatsu could not be reached for comment and is believed to be on his way to Seattle for an introductory press conference.

The defeated candidates were obviously disappointed, but grateful for the opportunity.

"I'm frustrated and disappointed, no doubt,'' Joey Cora said. "I thought I would have been a great fit. But that's his decision. He's the GM. he's trying to restore the franchise to where it was and he thinks that he has a better chance of doing it with the other guy. It is what it is.''

Cora said he'll now put the Mariners out of his mind and focus on "a great situation'' he has in Chicago as the White Sox bench coach under manager Ozzie Guillen. As for whether he anticipates managing any time soon, Cora was blunt: "I thought this was it, to be honest with you. It couldn't be any more fitting. I don't know what the future holds.''

Red Sox third base coach DeMarlo Hale, like Cora, has been down this road of rejection before on the managerial front and says it won't be tough to move on.

"You understand the process and you understand that there was only one person they could pick,'' Hale said. "It's not difficult at all. You've got to look at it as an opportunity. They've chosen another candidate, gone in another direction.''

Arizona Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale said it was tough waiting for the final word to come down.

"To be honest, I'm extremely disappointed,'' Hale said. "But I learned a long time ago, especially playing baseball in college and professionally, to be disappointed but not discouraged. There's a big difference in those two words. There will be other opportunities. This was a great learning experience. The Mariners are a great organization. That's why I was so excited.''

The other finalists were Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills; Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo; and San Diego Class AAA manager Randy Ready.