Nintendo Expands Seattle Mariners Partnership With Jersey Sleeve Sponsorship

Major League Baseball team the Seattle Mariners announced this week that Nintendo of America has become the team’s first-ever official jersey sleeve partners. The new Nintendo logos will be appearing on team uniforms starting Opening Day, March 27th versus the Oakland Athletics at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. The jerseys will feature the Nintendo “Racetrack” logo on their home jerseys, and the Nintendo Switch 2 logo will appear on their away jerseys. Furthering the partnership, All-Star Mariners Centerfielder Julio Rodriguez will serve as a brand ambassador. “It’s such a genuine thrill to be able to partner with such a talented team, including bright stars like Julio [Rodriguez],” said Doug Bowser, President and COO of Nintendo of America. “Our history with the Mariners goes back decades so this really feels like coming home.”

Mariners All-Star Centerfielder Julio Rodriguez sporting new home/away jerseys.

America’s Pastime

The origins of partnership between Nintendo of America and the Seattle Mariners goes back to 1992, when NOA’s then-president Minoru Arakawa, and chairman Howard Lincoln, helped broker a deal for Nintendo to purchase a majority stake in the team. This was spearheaded by Nintendo’s global President Hiroshi Yamauchi, who personally stepped in to keep the Mariners in Seattle when the franchise was at risk of being sold and relocated. Even though Yamauchi had never attended a game himself, he saw it as a way to give back to the Pacific Northwest, where Nintendo of America has called home since 1982.

Nintendo held majority ownership of the team for over two decades, with Howard Lincoln serving as the team’s CEO from 1999 to 2016. By 2016, Nintendo sold most of its stake to other members of the Mariners’ ownership group, First Avenue Entertainment, but retained a 10% minority interest. While Nintendo no longer controls the team, their historical ties to the franchise remains strong, which makes this recent development a natural continuation of that relationship. “Nintendo and the Mariners have been inextricably linked since 1992,” Seattle Mariners President of Business Operations Kevin Martinez said. “Now, each time the Mariners take the field, our jersey sleeves will help serve as a reminder of all that Nintendo of America has done for the Northwest community and the team. There isn’t a better partnership in Major League Baseball. We are grateful for our incredible relationship with Nintendo.”

Nintendo “Racetrack” Logo

My Thoughts

I’m not a sports guy by any means, but as a born-and-raised native of Southern California, my preferred team will always be the Anaheim Angels…or wait, I’m sorry, it’s actually “The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”…ugh! Anyways, I digress; this is exciting news for Nintendo fans and for fans of the Seattle Mariners. I found the history of how Nintendo became involved with the team quite fascinating. The 2014 book Console Wars by Blake J. Harris features a chapter entirely dedicated to how the partnership came about. However, the book also highlights how controversial this move was at the time. Having Nintendo’s global president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, become a majority stakeholder was a historic moment-marking the first time a foreign-born individual took a controlling interest in an American baseball team. Sadly, this was met with some pushback and xenophobia back then.