The Seattle Mariners have been owned by Hiroshi Yamauchi since 1992, although he never once attended an actual game for the team and now the former Nintendo head and former baseball owner has passed away.
According to Time.com, Yamauchi died on Thursday in Japan at the age of 85 after dealing with symptoms from pneumonia and now the former majority owner of the Mariners is deal, even though he had no real say in day-to-day operations with the team, which is the way he liked it. Yamauchi was the first owner from a foreign country in the major leagues and he was one reason why baseball was able to stay in Seattle over the years after many thought the franchise would be moved.
Yamauchi helped turn Nintendo into the billion dollar company that it is today and while he previously sold his stake in the Mariners to the US branch of the company, he was integral to keeping the team out West and many fans owe him thanks for that. Yamauchi rarely appeared in the media in regards to the Mariners, but he did give one previous interview after becoming the owner, which was found by Deadspin and can be found at this link.
Yamauchi is considered a great success in Japan and the billionaire helped turn the Nintendo company around and now they are one of the top game designers and producers in the world. Yamauchi made some of the most important hires for the company and he also helped the Mariners remain in Seattle when talks of the team moving came up.
The Mariners had some success under Yamauchi, although recent years have not been so kind, as the team has not been to the playoffs in a decade. Under his ownership, the team tied the record with a 116 win season and despite the team sucking now, they were a thrill with players like Ichiro Suzuki and Edgar Martinez and one reason Ichiro came in the first place was likely due to the Yamauchi connection. This season the Mariners have won only 67 games and rank 23rd in the league in runs, but they owe Yamauchi a big debt, as he is one reason why they are still in Seattle.
