Mary Yu, WA Supreme Court’s first Asian justice, throws first pitch at Seattle Mariners game
By Ryan General
Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu donned a special uniform and threw the first pitch of a Seattle Mariners baseball game against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
Yu, who is an avid Seattle Mariners fan, was asked to do the ceremonial pitch at T-Mobile Park in Seattle in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
A long-standing tradition in baseball, the ceremonial first pitch is thrown by a guest of honor to mark the start of the game.
In an interview prior to the pitch, Yu removed her judicial robe to reveal her Seattle Mariners shirt emblazoned with the name “Ichiro,” after the legendary Japanese baseball star Ichiro Suzuki.
“I have been practicing and getting ready for May 24, so, I have my shirt on,” she told KIRO 7 News. “I want you to know I have been tossing a baseball because I was told I have to throw the ball 60 feet.”
Yu earlier tweeted an image of herself practicing her pitch.
Born and raised in Bridgeport, Chicago, to her Mexican mother and Chinese father, Yu was the first in her family to graduate from college.
She served as deputy chief of staff to King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng and as a deputy in the Criminal and Civil Divisions before becoming a judge. She went on to spend over 14 years as a trial court judge in King County Superior Court.
Yu’s historic appointment to the Washington State Supreme Court in 2014 made her the first Asian, first Latina and first openly gay justice in the state.
She is also only the second justice on the state’s highest court to throw the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game.
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