Sasaki decided to leave Seattle
Sasaki himself spoke in a press conference on Jan 20 that he does not wish to play with the Major Leagues anymore. But wished to return to Japan this coming season. He said he did initially hope to prove himself with the Mariners again as he was out most of the season due to his injury and only garnered 10 saves. But said that he decided to stay in Japan because his children asked him not to go. He lived apart from his family while playing in the US. Luckily, he didn't have to go on waiver in the MLB. Japan's two teams, the Fighters and the BayStars came forward to acquire him. Sasaki declined the Fighters off on Feb 2.

SASAKI WITH THE SEATTLE MARINERS IN 2003
August 23
For the first time since healing his painful side, Sasaki pitched officially as the closure. The game was a tie in the 9th inning. However in the 10th inning, the Boston Red Sox clinched the game to win 7 to 6.

August 13
Sasaki was finally back after hurting his right side. For a start he pitched the 8th inning. He had no problem. The Mariners clinched the game over the Toronto BlueJays 13 to 6.

May 31
With the Mariners ahead, Sasaki pitched in the 9th inning. He ended the game safely and the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 5 to 2. It's his 9th save.

May 28
Sasaki was on in the 9th inning and kept the Kansas City Royals from scoring. The Mariners won 5 to 2. Sasaki earned his 8th save.

May 23
The team was ahead by 3 runs when Sasaki's turn to pitch came. He gave up a base hit, but no runs. He earned his 7th save in a 5 to 2 game against the Minnesota Twins.

May 17
Sasaki came on in the 9th inning. He pitched the inning smoothly and earned his 6th save in a 6 to 3 game against the Detroit Tigers.

April 22
Sasaki was on in the 9th inning, but an accident occurred. He hurt himself and left the mound. But fortunately his team won 8 to 5 over the Cleveland Indians.

April 20
Sasaki was on again. But he gave up a run. The Mariners managed to clinch the game winning 7 to 6 over the Anaheim Angels. Sasaki earned his 4th save.

April 19
Sasaki was on in the 9th inning with the Mariners leading 6 to 4. But Sasaki not only succumbed to 4 consecutive base hits, his teammate lost concentration out in the field. He took the loss, with the Anaheim Angels winning 7 to 6.

April 17
Sasaki was on in the 9th inning. But he gave up a homer and more from an error. The Oakland Athletics reached a tie. But in the 10th inning the Mariners managed to win 3 to 2 over the Oakland Athletics.

April 15
Sasaki was on again in the 9th inning. His team was taking a 2 run lead. He smoothly closed the game 5 to 3 against the Oakland Athletics and earned his 3rd save.

April 14
In the 9th inning, with the team leading by a run, Sasaki was on. He closed the game and the Mariners defeated the Oakland Athletics 4 to 3. Sasaki earned his 2nd save of the season.

April 13
Sasaki took over the mound in the 13th inning from Shigetoshi Hasegawa. His team scored, giving him the first win of the season.The Mariners won 4 to 3 over the Texas Rangers.

April 4
Sasaki came on in the 9th inning with his team ahead. This time, he achieved a remarkable record. He struck out 4 in one inning! That's because one was a result of a wild pitch to the Texas Rangers' Carl Everett on which he stole first. The Mariners beat the Rangers 6 to 4. Sasaki earned his first save.

April 3
Sasaki's first turn to pitch came in the 9th inning with his team taking the lead for the first tim this season. It was 4 to 3. But he gave up an RBI, prompting the game to go into extra innings. Fortunately, his team managed to win its first game of the season 7 to 6 in the 11 inning game.

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