While veteran right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma made three starts for Japan in its gold-medal run through the 2009 World Baseball Classic, he chose this season to skip the tournament for a second straight time.
"It’s always an honor to pitch for your country," he said Wednesday before the Mariners opened official workouts for pitchers and catchers at the Peoria Sports Complex.
"And I’ve done that before. But this year, my priority was to pitch here and get ready to pitch here for a long season. Make 33 (starts) for the entire season. That’s what I chose.