Motivation of a Freshman…Rakuten Manager Ishii: “Behind the Background of the GM’s Removal” Frustration Raised by Okoye’s Transfer to the Giants.

The slogan for 2011 is this. The slogan for 2011 is: “The eagle will grab it! The slogan for the 23rd year is “The eagle will grab it! Our goal is to win the championship. If we get anything other than the championship, we will be disappointed. To win the championship is a theme shared not only by me, but by the entire team.

On January 11, Rakuten manager Kazuhisa Ishii (49) announced the slogan for this season to fans and the press. The goal is to win the league championship for the first time in 10 years.

I can feel the determination of the manager. For Mr. Ishii, this must be a year of running water. After he took over as manager in 2009, the team failed to win the championship, finishing third and fourth, despite making major reinforcements to the team’s strength every year. Until now, he has served as both GM and manager, but from this year he will take charge as a full-time manager.

Why was Hiraishi, who finished third, dismissed and Ishii, who finished fourth, retained?

The reason for Ishii’s departure as GM was a “stumble” that occurred after the 2007 season.

Mr. Ishii, who was full-time GM at the time, dismissed manager Yosuke Hiraishi, who had brought the team from last place the previous year to third place. Mr. Ishii explained that the reason for his dismissal was that he had not been able to fully reform the team’s mindset, such as the many signing errors. Mr. Hiraishi must not have been satisfied. He turned down the newly created post of “Second Force Supervisor” and moved to his archrival Softbank as a coach.

However, when Mr. Ishii took over as manager, the team finished in the B class last year, which was lower than that of Hiraishi. Fans protested, saying, “Why was Hiraishi, who finished third, dismissed and Ishii, who finished fourth, retained? I think Mr. Ishii resigned his position as GM in order to take responsibility for the lack of results.

One of the problems is the lack of growth in the ranks of the new players.

Eigoro Mogi and Ryosuke Tatsumi seem to be making a good contribution to the team, but they should be able to aim higher considering their potential. The second overall pick in the 2006 draft, Hikaru Ota, the second overall pick in the 2007 draft, Fumihiro Kurokawa, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, and Koichi Takada, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, have not been able to grow as much.

Naturally, they tend to rely on reinforcements acquired through FA. In the field, we have Eito Asamura, former mainstay of the Seibu team, and Daichi Suzuki, who moved from Lotte. In the pitching staff, there is Takayuki Kishi, who joined from Seibu.

Rui Okoye is said to have been frustrated by the team’s tendency to rely on outside help. Okoye was transferred to the Giants at the end of last year in the current draft.

Okoye certainly gave the impression of having too high a self-esteem, saying every year, ‘I’m growing too smoothly. When he received attention from coaches and managers, there was an unevenness in his performance that made him fret.

On the other hand, it was also true that he was producing results in the second team, with a .327 batting average and a .411 on-base percentage. It is no wonder that he became frustrated, saying, “I’m working hard, so why won’t they use me in the first team? In fact, Okoye appeared in only six games for the first team in 2010. There is a danger that Ishii’s policy of relying on reinforcements will weaken the motivation of the established players.

Ishii, who announced the slogan at the beginning of this article, also announced that all six rookies on the team’s roster would start camp with the first team. With Ishii as the full-time manager, will he be able to “grab” the championship this year by motivating the young players?