Drayer: Mariners embracing Kikuchi, which speaks to team’s closeness

A question that is often asked after Mariners wins or losses is what the clubhouse is like when the media was let in.

Truth be told, usually the same.

Checking in on the key players the Mariners traded during the offseason

If they win, the music is on as guys go about their business of getting out of there, and if they lose, there is no music. It’s not a party on the good nights or overly somber on the bad ones. It’s obviously better to win than lose, and the wins are appreciated, but there is rarely anything over the top.

Now all of the above is before the media is let in. In the 10 minutes before it can be a little different.

For the last few years after a win the team gathers just inside the clubhouse door and waits until the players who were held up by walkoff interviews return. As they walk in they are recognized for what they did in the game by their teammates with cheers. It goes one – or four – steps forward if someone has achieved a milestone in the game. First hit, first home run, 1,000th hit, 200th home run, first save, or even the occasional manager milestone, that person is given a beer shower – a quick and (from what we have been able to hear from the outside) raucous celebration in the showers with teammates dousing the player with cans of beer. Quickly after, things settle down and it is back into the locker area, training room, etc. to get ready to go.

On Saturday following the Mariners’ 6-5 win over the Angels, there was still a bit of a buzz when the media entered the clubhouse. There were two milestones to celebrate that night as Dee Gordon picked up his 1,000th hit and Yusei Kikuchi his first MLB win. The appreciation for the latter in particular stood out. Teammates had a profound appreciation for both Kikuchi himself and what it meant to him to get that win.

“I just know how hard he works and how much he cares,” Daniel Vogelbach said in his walkoff interview after homering in that game. “We’ve been trying to get him one for him for a long time. He deserves it so much. It’s fun when he pitches, man, he fires me up. He’s so passionate, he’s sweating out there and he cares so much. I’m just happy he’s on our side.”

It goes beyond words to a reporter. Vogelbach has often been seen with Kikuchi laughing and, according to manager Scott Servais, helping with Kikuchi’s English where perhaps he doesn’t need help. They are teammates. Kikuchi wanted to fully immerse himself in the MLB experience and has done so, becoming an important part of the team, according to Dee Gordon.

“He means a lot,” Gordon said. “We want to make sure he’s comfortable. He’s coming from a different country. What happened with his dad was tough for anybody. For any one of us it would be tough losing our dad. For him to stay here and continue to be a great teammate, continue to smile every day, that speaks volumes to who he is.”

These comments speak to the closeness of this team. In some clubhouses players know little beyond how their lockermate swings a bat or throws a pitch. It’s hard to imagine that on a Servais team where so much value is put on those relationships, and one has to believe it can impact what happens on the field.

Kikuchi has felt the support of his teammates both in and out of the game. As he works to better learn the hitters in MLB, his fellow starters have been of help.

“It was a really big help watching these guys face the lineup before me,” said Kikuchi after pitching Game 3 of the Anaheim series. “Marco (Gonzales) actually today came in to the pitchers’ meeting and helped me out with a bunch of stuff with the scouting reports. He’s such a great teammate and I am really thankful to have someone like that on my side.”

It what can sometimes be a challenging transition coming from Japan to play baseball in the US, Kikuchi has felt the support of everyone around him. For someone who has said that a Major League career has been his dream since the age of 15, this takes on even more importance.

“I love the Mariners. I love my teammates. I love the staff members, I love my coaches,” he said. “There’s been a lot of stuff to be happy about, hopefully we can keep that going because I know it is a long season.”

Of course, more things to be happy about could lead to more beer showers, and that might take some getting used to.

“It was colder than I thought it would be,” Kikuchi said with a laugh. “I’m really cold right now.”

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