The Mariners’ accountants are staggering into work late yesterday morning after a night of wild celebration–the team announced Monday that veteran catcher Kenji Johjima, who lost his starting job this season, has decided to opt out of the next two years of his contract, which would’ve paid him a total of $16 million.

“He walks completely on his contract here, and we start fresh,” Johjima’s agent told the Times. The Mariners now owe Johjima nothing, not even COBRA coverage.

Why would Johjima do it? This was my question to childhood friend David as we watched the two amazing baseball playoff games Monday night at the Roanoke.

“Well, he’s already made a ton of money,” David said.

True. Johjima played 11 years in the Japanese league, and made more than $25 million in his four seasons as a Mariner. But. Still. $16 million! How can you walk away from that?

Mariner GM Jack Zduriencik repeatedly characterized Johjima’s choice as a “personal decision”–as if there is any other kind. The real question is, why make it? Why give up, essentially, a winning lottery ticket?

1) Maybe Johjima wanted to play every day.

He wasn’t going to here, not with the M’s ready to audition 25-year-old Adam Moore. The M’s also have defensive specialist Rob Johnson, who both Wakamatsu and the pitching staff seemed more comfortable with. In Japan, he’s got teams falling all over him.

2) Maybe Johjima felt honor-bound to ditch his absurd contract.

The three-year extension Johjima signed in April of ’07 was ordered by Japanese management. (Don’t get too down on those dudes, they also ordered the M’s to sign Ichiro.) Maybe Johjima felt that he wasn’t holding up his end of the bargain?

3) Maybe there’s something more titillating going on.

The last big Japanese star to abruptly leave the Mariners, Kaz Sasaki, said he was ditching a guaranteed $8.5 million to spend more time with his family. Instead, he wanted to spend more time with this foyne model/actress, who he divorced his wife for and has already had two kids with. 

I don’t suppose we’ll ever know what prompted Johjima to walk away from $16 million–maybe it was a combination of things. Still…I’m trying to figure out what would make me walk away from that amount of money and I’m having a tough time figuring it out. Props to you, Mr. Johjima, for not being a slave to the businessman.