Baseball: Mariners' Yusei Kikuchi announces death of his father

Yuji Kikuchi, the father of new Seattle Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, has died at the age of 59, the pitcher said in a statement released by the club on Saturday."I learned today that my father, Yuji Kikuchi, passed away following a long and valiant battle with cancer.""During my recent visit to Japan, my father expressed his desire for me to remain focused on baseball and to help my team win. Although difficult, I will honor his wishes and dedicate the rest of this season to him.""This statement will be my only comment on this matter, but I will remain available to answer baseball questi…READ FULL ARTICLE