Brady's Spin: Can the Seattle Mariners Partnership with Nintendo Help Them in Japan?

Thus far, most of the conversation around the partnership has centered on how big the Nintendo Switch 2 logo is on the green jerseys, but there's really only one thing that matters to me ultimately. Can this new partnership help the Mariners at all in Japan?

See, the Mariners used to have a huge footprint and huge relevance in Japan. Kazuhiro Sasaki and Ichiro Suzuki each won the Rookie of the Year award in the American League, and Ichiro won the MVP in 2001. Hisashi Iwakuma was an All-Star and threw a no-hitter for the Mariners. Seattle used to be a destination for Japanese players, but with the rise of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the M's have lost that relevance.

Can this partnership help get that back? Will we start seeing Mariners-related advertising in Japan? Will we start seeing M's players take trips to Japan? Anything that can help get the M's in the door?

We spoke about this topic with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the latest edition of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast:

"Well, ​it ​can, ​depending ​on ​how ​that ​manifests. ​The ​perception ​of ​folks ​in ​baseball ​is ​that ​Guggenheim's ​connection, ​and ​that's ​the ​group ​that ​owns ​the ​Dodgers, ​really ​helps ​that ​franchise in ​Japan, ​helps ​to ​forge ​relationships, ​helps ​to ​forge ​partnerships, ​even ​with ​groups ​that help ​to ​steer ​these ​players ​as ​to ​where ​they're ​going ​to ​go. ​So, ​look, ​any ​sort ​of ​financial ​gain ​for ​the ​Mariners, ​I ​think, ​can ​put ​them ​in ​a ​better ​position ​than ​they're ​in ​right ​now, ​that's ​for ​sure. ​Will ​it ​​dent ​what ​the ​Dodgers ​have ​over ​there? ​I'm ​skeptical, ​but, ​at ​the ​very ​least ​the ​Mariners ​are ​going ​to ​be ​in ​a ​better ​position ​to ​compete ​with ​other ​teams."

You can listen to the full interview HERE:

The Mariners open up the season on March 27 at home against the Athletics.