The Seattle Mariners and the Oakland A's arrived safely in Japan today -- both teams arrived at Narita International Airport.

Nikkan Sports has already posted comments about Ichiro's attire.

See also:

MLB's 2012 Opening Series Japan Schedule

Ticket prices for Opening Series Japan 2012 have been released.

Additional information can be found at the following links: Japanese - English

Tickets will go on sale on 2/4, beginning at 11:00am.

Exhibition

Seats	Ito Ham Pre-Season Game		Pre-Season Game
	3/25 (Sun) 19:00	3/26 (Mon) 19:00	3/25 (Sun) 12:00	3/26 (Mon) 12:00
First Base	Yomiuri Giants	Yomiuri Giants	Seattle Mariners	Oakland Athletics
	vs	vs	vs	vs
Third Base	Oakland Athletics	Seattle Mariners	Hanshin Tigers	Hanshin Tigers
Reserved S	6,000 yen	10,000 yen	10,000 yen	6,000 yen
Balcony Seats (Buffet)	-	-	-	-
Balcony Seats (No Buffet)	4,500 yen	7,000 yen	7,000 yen	4,500 yen
Field Seats	5,200 yen	8,500 yen	8,500 yen	5,200 yen
Reserved A	4,500 yen	7,000 yen	7,000 yen	4,500 yen
Reserved B	3,500 yen	4,500 yen	4,500 yen	3,500 yen
Reserved C	-	3,000 yen	3,000 yen	-
Reserved D	-	1,800 yen	1,800 yen	-
OF Reserved	2,500 yen	3,000 yen	3,000 yen	2,500 yen
Standing	-	-	-	-
INF Non-Reserved (Adult)	1,800 yen	-	-	1,800 yen
INF Non-Reserved (Children)	800 yen	-	-	800 yen
Four Ticket	10,000 yen	10,000 yen	10,000 yen	10,000 yen

MLB

Seats	Gm 1	Gm 2
	3/28 (Wed) 19:00	3/29 (Thurs) 18:00
First Base	Oakland Athletics	Oakland Athletics
	vs	vs
Third Base	Seattle Mariners	Seattle Mariners
Reserved S	18,000 yen	18,000 yen
Balcony Seats (Buffet)	14,500 yen	14,500 yen
Balcony Seats (No Buffet)	12,000 yen	12,000 yen
Field Seats	15,000 yen	15,000 yen
Reserved A	12,000 yen	12,000 yen
Reserved B	7,000 yen	7,000 yen
Reserved C	4,500 yen	4,500 yen
Reserved D	-	-
OF Reserved	4,500 yen	4,500 yen
Standing	1,500 yen	1,500 yen
INF Non-Reserved (Adult)	-	-
INF Non-Reserved (Children)	-	-
Four Ticket	-	-

 

About 60 reporters covered Hisashi Iwakuma's press conference on Friday.  He opened by saying, "My name is Hisashi Iwakuma" in English.  While it is not uncommon for players to do parts of their press conferences in other languages like English and Italian (soccer), players usually do not go out of their way to do that when holding press conference in Japan.

His English speech:

My name is Hisashi Iwakuma. Please call me Kuma. I am very excited to become a member of Mariners. I want to contribute for the team's success with my family and Mariners fans. Thank you.

Regarding his incentives:

The number of starts he makes, between 20 and 30.
The number of innings he pitches, between 140 and 200.
And various other things like winning the Cy Young Award and making the All-Star Game.

===

Nikkan Sports has posted the following comments from Iwakuma:

Why did you decide to select the Seattle Mariners?

I visited for five days beginning on 12/15 last year.  I had a chance to see Seattle and the stadium facilities.  My daughter liked the area and it felt nice to be somewhere that felt similar to Sendai. The team also made me feel wanted.  The terms did not matter.

When did you get an official offer from the Mariners?

Around January 2.  That was, coincidentally, the same day I met my wife.  It felt like fate.  I did not hesitate in selecting them.

Did you contact Ichiro?

I have not spoken to him yet.  There are things I want to ask Ichiro regarding the team.  I feel stronger knowing Ichiro and [Munenori] Kawasaki are backing me up.

Your uniform number?

The number 18 was open so I asked for it.  I was 21 in Japan, now I want to redefine myself as an ace in the US wearing the number 18.

If [Yu] Darvish ends up signing with the Texas Rangers, then you will be playing in the same division.

I am really looking forward to that.  I think I will feel even more motivated knowing I might pitch against him.

What kind of pitcher will you aim to be?

Control and movement.  I want to move my pitches around and make them hit the ball.

Sponichi has posted slightly different comments from Iwakuma:

How do you feel right now?

I am really happy.  I signed a deal with the Mariners and now I can start fresh.

Why did you select the Mariners?

I went to Seattle with my daughter and she liked it there.  Their first real offer came January 2, the date when I first met my wife.  It felt like fate and I felt like giving it a go with them.  On the money side of things, I had other offers that were better.

Ichiro will be on the same team.

There are a lot of things I do not know about the team, so there are things I would like to ask him.  And knowing Kawasaki will also be there makes me feel strong.

Your uniform number is 18.

This is a big step for me so I wanted that number.  I will do my best because I want to be considered an ace.

Any specific goals?

The first is playing through an entire season without getting hurt.  I am preparing myself to pitch on four to five days of rest, so I would like to reach 30 starts.  I want to do my kind of pitching and get batters to hit a lot of grounders.

The [Mariners] will begin the season in Japan.

That makes me happy and I will do my best to be one of the pitchers that pitches.

Any words you would like to send out to the fans in the Tohoku region?

This will be the first year in the rebuilding/revitalization of northern Japan.  I will do my best to make sure they receive happy news, that can provide them with hope, from the US.

Sponichi has posted another set of comments as well:

What kind of baseball do you want to play?

I am a control pitcher and I want to get batters to hit grounders by moving my pitches around.

Did you have a chance to speak to Ichiro?

Not yet, but I have a chance to play with Ichiro and Kawasaki.  Knowing they are backing me up give me strength.

There is a chance Darvish will be pitching in the same division.

I look forward to pitching against him.  That makes me excited.

Which batter would you like to face?

I think every batter is amazing, but Albert Pujols will be playing in the same division.  I want to enjoy the feeling as I pitch against him.

Did [Masahiro] Tanaka's development help push you to heading to the Majors?

Tanaka and I both grew together.  Having him around did, in some way, help with my decision.  I would like to see Rakuten win and I hope he is what drives them.

What are you thoughts on Hiroyuki Nakajima?

I do not think this experience will be bad for him.  He needs to stay strong and I would like to see him continue to chase his dream.

Lawson Ticket will sell Excite Seat tickets for Opening Series Japan 2012 between 1/14 at 12:00 until 1/17 at 23:00.  Tickets for other seats will go on sale at a later date.

Official Opening Series Japan 2012 site (in Japanese)

===

Exhibition

Dates		Ito Ham Pre-Season Game		Pre-Season Game
		3/25 (Sun) 19:00	3/26 (Mon) 19:00	3/25 (Sun) 12:00	3/26 (Mon) 12:00
Game	(1st base) (3rd base)	Yomiuri Giants vs Oakland A's	Yomiuri Giants vs Seattle Mariners	Seattle Mariners vs Hanshin Tigers	Oakland A's vs Hanshin Tigers
Excite Seat	(1st base) (3rd base)	10,000 yen	10,000 yen	10,000 yen	10,000 yen

MLB

Dates		Game 1	Game 2
		3/28 (Wed) 19:00	3/29 (Thurs) 18:00
Game	(1st base) (3rd base)	Oakland A's vs Seattle Mariners	Oakland A's vs Seattle Mariners
Excite Seat	(1st base) (3rd base)	18,000 yen	18,000 yen

According to Nikkan Sports, Hisashi Iwakuma has agreed to a deal with the Seattle Mariners.  The report also mentions that Iwakuma held a press conference over the telephone (he is currently working out in Tokyo) at around 9am JST.  Sponichi adds that he got a one-year deal worth around US$1.5M (around 120M yen).  If he maxes out the incentives, the deal could be worth more than the 300M yen he made in 2011.

UPDATE @ 10:45am - A new Nikkan Sports report confirms that the deal was for one year and worth US$1.5M.  He also gets the number 18.  Iwakuma is also quoted as saying that it was never about the money (the Mariners' offer was apparently the worst out of the other offers he received).

UPDATE @ 10:55am - ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the deal could be worth a total US$4.9M (based on starts and IP).

Baseball America's Matt Eddy tweets that the Seattle Mariners signed Munenori Kawasaki to a minor league contract.  No other information is known.

Sponichi is reporting that Hisashi Iwakuma told reporters on Tuesday that he is closest to signing with the Seattle Mariners.

"Now that we are in the New Year, things are beginning to move on the negotiation front," said Iwakuma.  "I have received offers from a number of teams and when I consider things like how much a I feel needed and my family, I am probably closest to signing a deal with Seattle."

Iwakuma spent about five hours working out in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Daily Sports is reporting that Hisashi Iwakuma could finalize a deal with the Seattle Mariners as early as some time this week.  Daily Sports also mentions that

• it was the Mariners that Iwakuma met during his trip to the US in December.
• Iwakuma went to the US with his daughter and Koju Hirohashi (his wife's father).

Nikkan Sports is reporting that Hisashi Iwakuma (30) could be close to signing a deal with the Seattle Mariners.

===

Career Stats

Year	Tm	G	W	L	Sv	CG	ShO	BF	IP	H	HR	BB	HBP	SO	WP	BK	R	ER	ERA	WHIP
2001	OSA	9	4	2	0	1	1	192	43.2	46	3	13	3	25	1	0	28	22	4.53	1.35
2002	OSA	23	8	7	0	2	0	594	141.1	132	10	42	8	131	4	1	62	58	3.69	1.23
2003	OSA	27	15	10	0	11	0	809	195.2	201	19	48	3	149	2	0	85	75	3.45	1.27
2004	OSA	21	15	2	0	7	1	647	158.2	149	13	30	8	123	0	0	57	53	3.01	1.13
2005	RAK	27	9	15	0	9	0	796	182.1	218	19	40	6	124	7	0	113	101	4.99	1.41
2006	RAK	6	1	2	0	2	0	169	38.2	43	4	12	1	16	0	0	18	16	3.72	1.42
2007	RAK	16	5	5	0	0	0	388	90.0	95	6	23	2	84	0	0	47	34	3.40	1.31
2008	RAK	28	21	4	0	5	2	787	201.2	161	3	36	4	159	4	0	48	42	1.87	0.98
2009	RAK	24	13	6	0	5	0	710	169.0	179	15	43	6	121	3	0	62	61	3.25	1.31
2010	RAK	28	10	9	0	4	1	821	201.0	184	11	36	12	153	1	1	68	63	2.82	1.09
2011	RAK	17	6	7	0	2	1	471	119.0	106	6	19	5	90	1	0	34	32	2.42	1.05
Totals		226	107	69	0	48	6	6384	1541.0	1514	109	342	58	1175	23	2	622	557	3.25	1.20

Nikkan Sports is reporting that Munenori Kawasaki left for the US today.  Before leaving, Kawasaki told reporters he was going on a trip with his wife, but Nikkan Sports wonders if it might be to finalize a deal with the Seattle Mariners.

UPDATE 12/15 @ 4:01am - Just to clarify, this is just speculation on Nikkan Sports' part.  I did find another source that mentioned he likely took off for the US (he left on an international flight) and wondered if Kawasaki's decision to back out of the team's trip to Hawaii had anything to do with wanting to be available in case the Mariners came knocking.

UPDATE 12/15 @ 6:32am - Sponichi is reporting that a deal could be close.  An unnamed MLB source is also quoted as saying that negotiations have gone smoothly and that it probably will not take much longer.

UPDATE 12/15 @ 11:10am - Nikkan Sports reports that Kawasaki could have a contract in his hand by the time he returns to Japan if negotiations continue to go smoothly.  They are even reporting that the Mariners are starting to make preparations for a press conference and that Kawasaki will likely get a one-year split contract with a club option for a second year.