Ken Griffey Jr.’s position as a “special consultant” to the Mariners is underway, with The Kid traveling to Japan this weekend as a sort of baseball ambassador.

Griffey helped out at a baseball clinic for Japanese youngsters Sunday near Tokyo. (See photo gallery below.) The Mariners are drumming up publicity for their two-game, season-opening series against Oakland on March 28 and 29 in Japan.

But while the former slugger is still the biggest Mariners star for Seattle, in Japan the big hero is Ichiro Suzuki. Many fans had hoped the Athletics-Mariners showdown would feature a duel between Ichiro and Japanese star Hideki Matsui, but it’s looking like Oakland won’t be re-signing the aging free agent, The Associated Press reports.

Ichiro also may be on the downslope of his career. Last season, the 38-year-old struggled at the plate, hitting just .272 – bad, for Ichiro – and watching his decade-long 200-hit streak come to an end. Two weeks ago, Ichiro admitted to Japanese media that he “felt desperate” and had a lot of “mental stress” last season.

“Ichiro is going to be fine, you can ask these two guys (A’s manager Bob Melvin and M’s manager Eric Wedge) if a guy had 184 hits they wouldn’t be complaining,” Griffey told the AP on Monday. “But you are looking at a guy who is a special athlete. He had one hiccup in his career and come this time next year we won’t even be talking about this. He is going to come into this season determined and with a little fire.”

Here’s more from the AP on Griffey’s press junket Monday:

Seattle and Oakland had been scheduled to play here in March 2003 when Melvin managed the Mariners, but the series was scrapped because of the threat of war in Iraq. The A’s will be the home team in both games this time around. … “I’m looking forward to seeing the overall environment here,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. “How the fans interact, the discipline and everything that goes along with that. I’m just looking forward to playing some good baseball over here.” “In 2003, I was supposed to be here in charge of Eric’s team,” Melvin said. “But we couldn’t make it, so being able to come and play the Mariners is really special for us and I’m really looking forward to the series.”

The Mariners and Athletics also will play their final two preseason games against the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers, both of Japanese professional baseball, on March 25 and 26 in Japan.









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Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Image 2 of 10 Former Mariners slugger Ken Griffey Jr., now working as a Mariners consultant, gives a Japanese boy a tip on batting at a baseball clinic Sunday. Former Mariners slugger Ken Griffey Jr., now working as a Mariners consultant, gives a Japanese boy a tip on batting at a baseball clinic Sunday. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 3 of 10 Ken Griffey Jr., now working as a Mariners consultant, is surrounded by young Japanese ballplayers from the quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture at a baseball clinic Sunday. Ken Griffey Jr., now working as a Mariners consultant, is surrounded by young Japanese ballplayers from the quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture at a baseball clinic Sunday. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 4 of 10 Ken Griffey Jr. watches batting practice at a baseball clinic in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Sunday. Ken Griffey Jr. watches batting practice at a baseball clinic in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Sunday. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 5 of 10 Image 6 of 10 Ken Griffey Jr. reacts during question-and-answer session at a baseball clinic jointly sponsored by the Mariners and Japan's Yomiuri Giants for young Japanese ballplayers on Sunday. Ken Griffey Jr. reacts during question-and-answer session at a baseball clinic jointly sponsored by the Mariners and Japan's Yomiuri Giants for young Japanese ballplayers on Sunday. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 7 of 10 Seattle Mariners Manager Eric Wedge, center, speaks, with Oakland Athletics Manager Bob Melvin, left, and Mariners special consultant Ken Griffey Jr., sitting beside him, at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, Jan. 16. The Mariners and Athletics will open next season in Japan with a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome on March 28 and 29. less Seattle Mariners Manager Eric Wedge, center, speaks, with Oakland Athletics Manager Bob Melvin, left, and Mariners special consultant Ken Griffey Jr., sitting beside him, at a press conference in Tokyo on ... more Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 8 of 10 Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge, center, gestures with Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin, left, and Mariners special consultant Ken Griffey Jr. after a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge, center, gestures with Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin, left, and Mariners special consultant Ken Griffey Jr. after a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 9 of 10 Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin, left, Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge, center, and Mariners special consultant Ken Griffey Jr. pose for photographers after a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin, left, Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge, center, and Mariners special consultant Ken Griffey Jr. pose for photographers after a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 10 of 10 Mariners send Griffey to Japan as baseball ambassador 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle news. Contact Nick Eaton at nickeaton@seattlepi.com or on Twitter as @njeaton.