From left: Seattle Mariners bench coach Lee Elia, 2008 Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Alicia Kagawa, and Oakland A’s bench coach Don Wakamatsu. Photo by Kumi Yamauchi

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics celebrated Japanese Heritage Day on Sept. 20 at McAfee Coliseum, featuring representatives of the local Japanese American community and donating part of the day’s ticket sales to Nikkei community organizations.

The A’s faced the Seattle Mariners in the second of three games, the season’s last series at home for Oakland. The lineup included a Japanese American player, A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki, and two from Japan, Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and catcher Kenji Johjima, and there was a large turnout of Asian American fans.

The pre-game ceremony included a performance on the field by Emeryville Taiko and the presentation of a $10,150 check to the Golden Gate Optimist League and the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Programs at Rosa Parks Elementary School and Clarendon Alternative Elementary School, both in San Francisco.

Participants in the ceremony included Consul General of Japan Yasumasa Nagamine and Union Bank of California CEO Masaaki Tanaka.

Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Alicia Kagawa, dressed in a kimono, presented flowers to A’s bench coach Don Wakamatsu and Mariners bench coach Lee Elia, both former major-leaguers.

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Tanaka, who played baseball in elementary school. Although his first pitch from a major-league mound ended in a bounce, the Athletics’ Jerry Blevins, who served as catcher, encouraged him by saying it was an “aggressive” throw.

Noting that UBOC was originally established to serve the Japanese American community, Tanaka said he will continue to be involved in events like this one.