The Seattle Mariners will have Ichiro as an acting bench coach for the next two days, and his role has been pretty clearly defined.
The opportunity came up with manager Scott Servais away from the team for two days to attend his daughter’s graduation. Bench coach Manny Acta will be acting manager, while Ichiro will fill Acta’s usual role.
Acta is looking forward to it — although he’s not quite sure how many of Ichiro’s ideas will be adopted on the field.
Manny Acta, filling in for Servais tonight, with Ichiro filling in as bench coach.
"To have Ichiro as my bench coach is a luxury. It's another little history I can tell my grandkids down the road."
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) May 11, 2018
Manny Acta says he communicates well with Ichiro and wlll listen to his ideas on the bench. And then?
"During the game, he'll be watching and managing his own game, just like I do. If anything pops up, I'll ask him. And probably at the end of the day, I'll go with my idea."
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) May 11, 2018
Ichiro had been working in other roles within the organization. A coaching one this soon may be a surprise, even if it’s only a temporary one, but it seems like it’ll be a good experience for all involved.
