Warren Shimabukuro — known as “Maui’s Mr. Baseball” — had a distinguished career as a building inspector, retiring in 1990 after 20 years with the state Department of Accounting and General Services. During those years he pretty much inspected everything on Maui built by the state. Or, as his resume put it, “Roads, schools, libraries, hospitals, prisons, the college, construction of all kinds.”
But Shimabukuro’s real claim to fame is as a dedicated volunteer who brings a building inspector’s keen eye for detail to more than 40 years on the baseball diamond. When it comes to the “national pastime,” there’s not much the 86-year-old Happy Valley resident hasn’t done: He’s coached, officiated, served as groundskeeper, tallied the score, kept the media informed, improved the Wailuku baseball stadium, kept tabs on the maintenance crews and mentored generation after generation of young athletes.
Shimabukuro is a regular at the Wailuku Coffee Co. on North Market Street, where he sits in the early morning hours, holding down the emeritus spot. The youngest of nine children of Okinawan ancestry, the 1952 Lahainaluna graduate is such an old-timer that he can clearly remember the tsunami that hit the west side in 1941.
On a recent morning who should stop by the cafe but Shane Victorino, Maui’s “Flyin’ Hawaiian” and two-time World Series champ.
Victorino, who attended St. Anthony High School and whose dad is Maui Mayor Michael Victorino, comes over to say hello and shake hands, remarking that he’s known Shimabukuro since “small-kid time.” He nods approvingly at the interview in progress, saying, “Warren Shimabukuro does it all.”
For his part Shimabukuro is “really proud” of Victorino and Baldwin High School alumnus Kurt Suzuki, star catcher for the Washington Nationals and 2019 World Series winner.
Asked to reflect on his involvement with the sport, Shimabukuro recalled, “Kenji Kawaguchi got me involved, back in the 1970s. I helped him officiate basketball and learned the rules from him.” From there Shimabukuro participated in a variety of sports, but baseball won out: Little League, Peewee, Pony and Colt leagues, Parks and Recreation teams, the Stingrays and Na Koa Ikaika semipro teams, high school athletics — he’s had a long and close association with them all.
Talking about officiating at games, he remarked, “Sometimes people get really loud, the coaches come out and yell. You gotta take it but it makes you mad inside.”
One of his continuing concerns is the condition of the field and the stadium. “I make sure the field is in good shape, ready to play.” By that he means the county’s Ichiro “Iron” Maehara Baseball Stadium in Wailuku, named for another Maui baseball legend. Maehara, a former county parks director, was a semipro player and scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On a walk through the dugout, press box and stadium, Shimabukuro checked the electrical board, scoreboard and field markers and pointed out past improvements. He also mentioned things he hopes to see soon, like additional banisters in the bleachers.
In a perfect world there would be no need to “remind” the county to keep it all looking spiffy. But in real life, he said, the maintenance of the grounds sort of comes and goes, looking wonderful before special events like last month’s Kurt Suzuki/All Pono Baseball Clinic for local youngsters, when nine parks employees were out on the field getting everything shipshape, and then looking less than ideal when the spotlight turns elsewhere.
Or, as he comments, “It’s start and stop.” That, in his opinion, is not the way it should be. “Let’s keep it up, not all this last-minute stuff. Be consistent. Do it right. The first impression should be ‘Wow!’”
To make sure that “Wow!” is the prevailing sentiment, Shimabukuro makes it a practice to get to the field two hours before game time. But, it turns out, he also goes there many other days at 5 a.m. “to keep an eye on things.”
According to park caretaker Daniel Contreras, “Warren keeps us on our toes, and, no, we don’t get tired of it.”
Asked how his wife feels about all that time he spends at the ball field, Shimabukuro replies, “My wife is understanding. I don’t go to bars or drinking; she knows where I am.”
He is a man of few words. “It’s hard to explain my emotions,” he said. “I’m pleased with what’s been accomplished; I’m really satisfied.”
