Hideki Kuriyama, the Manager Who Led Samurai Japan to the World Championship, Has Finished His Term — Why “Shohei Otani” Is Making It Difficult to Choose His Successor

Hideki Kuriyama, 62, who led Samurai Japan to the World No. 1 position at the WBC in March, reached the end of his term of office on May 31.

In a word, I think he was a manager who understood what it takes to win and executed it with a cool head. If it had not been for him, we would not have been able to invite Shohei Otani. Based on that, he was able to form the strongest team in history with major leaguers such as Yu Darvish, Masanao Yoshida, and Nutobar.

The result was the long-sought after top spot after three tournaments.

The result was the long-sought after top spot after three tournaments. “This may be an exaggeration, but the games themselves were dramatic, and the Japanese people, young and old, were enthralled by the games. Perhaps because of that, there were many who wanted Kuriyama to continue as manager for the next WBC in 2014, but he was determined to take off the uniform no matter what.

From now on, the Samurai Japan Reinforcement Committee will proceed with the selection of a successor.

Candidates include Ichiro, 49, special assistant to the chairman and instructor of the Mariners; Hideki Matsui, 48, special advisor to the GM of the New York Yankees; Atsuya Furuta, 57, former Yakult manager; Kimiyasu Kudo, 60, former Softbank manager; Shihito Iguchi, 48, former manager of the Lotte Former Giants manager Yoshinobu Takahashi (48), and many others.

Atsunori Inaba, 50, served as Japan’s national team coach from 2005 to 2009, but many said it would be difficult for him to become national team coach without any coaching experience. The team won the Premier 12 Championship and the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but I think they were only able to do it because of Inaba.

In 2014, more Japanese major leaguers are expected to be born than ever before, including Shota Konaga (29) of DeNA, Kazuma Okamoto (26) of the Giants, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (24) of Orix, and Munetaka Murakami (23) of Yakult, and of course there will be players who are likely to come forward in the next three years. The next three years will be tough.

It is important, of course, to tame these players, who are not always straightforward, and it is also difficult to “lose many of them” in a mood in which winning is taken for granted. If anything, it could damage the baseball career they have led up to this point.

The biggest question is whether or not Shohei Otani can be used properly.

If nothing else, it will be a matter of whether the team can control Otani, who is in the midst of his prime and running at full speed, by placing him at the core of the team. If Otani participates, other talented players should also join Samurai Japan.

The person who will be the manager will have to possess a variety of human qualities.

In fact, when people involved in the project get together, they often talk about the next manager. For example, Yoshinobu Takahashi calmly analyzed the WBC this year. He said he would never do it.

If we consider whether or not they have experience as managers, the names of Kudo, Furuta, and Iguchi would be the most likely.

I think the question will be whether or not he has a relationship with Otani. From that point of view, Lotte manager Rito Yoshii, who served as pitching coach for this year’s Samurai Japan, may be a qualified candidate. However, the 2nd Asian Professional Baseball Championship to be held in November this year is considered to be the new manager’s first season, and if he has to be ready in time for that, even if it is three years from now, it will be difficult for the current manager to make it.

Of course, there is a strong desire for Ichiro and Matsui, and no one would question that.