<figure id="attachment_394294" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 751px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-394294"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="446a1f58"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/2c882cb5bdc3e9ba61cd5f7e6eae991b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-394294" class="wp-caption-text">On October 6, the final game of the season, Nakajima suddenly announced his resignation at a press conference</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I heard that the team had asked him to continue as manager since the summer, I thought, &#8216;or &#8230;&#8230;.&#8217; Nakajima is famous for his natural innocence. The manager is famous for his natural innocence.</span></p>
<p>The media reported the resignation of Orix manager Satoshi Nakajima (55) as a &#8220;blitz. However, not a few reporters actually felt a sense of &#8220;goodbye. They also said, &#8220;Next time, he will take charge of Nippon-Ham. They also <span class="strongInContent">said</span>, &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">He will probably take charge of Nippon-Ham next time.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h2>Hanshin manager Okada, who played in the Japan Series, also &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
<p>After the final game of the season against Rakuten, Nakajima gave a reason for his resignation that surprised everyone involved.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I used the word &#8216;responsibility&#8217; a lot,&#8221; Nakajima said. I often used the word &#8216;responsibility.&#8217; I said, &#8216;We have the responsibility, so please give it your all. I think I would like to take responsibility for the team&#8217;s decline to this level.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Even if you continue to do what you have always done, people get used to it. This year, the habituation part came out strongly. At the beginning, I told them to run as fast as they could and to take turns on offense and defense, and I said, &#8216;Make sure you do that. We started from the bottom of the standings, so it was strange that the team at the bottom couldn&#8217;t do that.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When the team that won the tournament was asked to do it, no matter how much I told them, they didn&#8217;t improve on it. If it was a CS finals game or a Japan Series game, they would do it. No matter how much you say it, if you can&#8217;t do it, it&#8217;s as if you haven&#8217;t said it, so I think it&#8217;s just a matter of getting used to it.</span></p>
<p>One of the first to react was Tsuyoshi Shinjo, 52, manager of Nippon Ham. The day after Nakajima announced that he would <span class="strongInContent">be resigning</span>, he spoke to the press.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I saw your comment, and I understand how you feel. Certainly, watching the Orix players over the past three years, I saw that even in terms of baserunning, there were some areas where I thought he was a little out of his element. （The current Fighters, who are on the way up (to the championship), don&#8217;t have that. But if they win three championships in a row, I don&#8217;t know.</span></p>
<p>No matter how many times I say it, they don&#8217;t run. I can&#8217;t tell you how many times I&#8217;ve given the sign for a base hit, and I&#8217;ve hit a fly ball into the air. &#8230;&#8230;As Hanshin manager Akifu Okada (66) has often lamented this season after losing the Allenpaul Cup, he wanted to correct the slackness in his team that had reached the top. It was probably because he wanted to correct the slackness of a team that had reached the pinnacle of its game.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Possibility of Post-Shinjo"></div>
<p>Nakajima began his professional career with the Hankyu Braves. He spent the last 12 years of his 29-year career with Nippon-Ham, the longest of his career.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h2>Aiming for the top in a new environment</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the year following his retirement, he was sent to the San Diego Padres, with whom the team was affiliated, for a two-year coaching stint. Soon after returning to Japan, I learned the lessons of the Imperial School under the supervision of the famous manager Hideki Kuriyama (63) as the first-team battery and operations coach. It is a bit of a misnomer, but he was being groomed by Nippon Ham as a future manager, and Orix &#8220;stole&#8221; him from them. Mr. Nakajima is a man with a strong, unshakable character. He definitely has a plan to return the favor to Nippon Ham,&#8221; said sportswriter Yamato Fujimoto.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_394300" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-394300"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="46c21644"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/b20dafd3ac72b139cb09ee983cc1cca7.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-394300" class="wp-caption-text">A shot from his Nippon Ham days coaching Yuki Saito (right). Many pitchers, including Daisuke Matsuzaka, have built a relationship of trust with him.</figcaption></figure>
<p>No explanation is needed for his skill in rebuilding the Orix, which had been in the bottom half of the standings, and winning three consecutive championships. As he was leaving the club, he told the press, &#8220;Of course, I wanted to get back at them.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Of course I wanted to do it all over again, but if I was going to do it all over again, I would prefer a new form.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The newspapers took this as a message that the Orix would regain the championship under a new regime, but to me it sounded more like a determination to &#8220;aim for the top in a new environment. Nippon Ham has not yet decided on a manager for next season. Shinjo has not yet decided on a manager for next season, because he has withheld his answer to the team&#8217;s request, saying, &#8220;Right now, all I can think about is winning the Japan Series. Second team manager Atsunori Inaba, 52, who has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Shinjo, is said to have moved his base to the Kanto region. Mr. Nakajima said he would &#8216;take it easy for a while,&#8217; but I don&#8217;t think there is zero chance of a sideways move to a new position.</span></p>
<p>Mr. Nakajima is an innocent man,&#8221; Fujimoto continued.</p>
<p>Both managers and Mr. Dragons who fought in last year&#8217;s Japan Series are gone, and the departure of the big boss is uncertain. The stove league has begun to burn hot.</p>


 Kyodo News

 Satoshi Nakajima, the manager of the Orix, who won three consecutive championships, left the Orix, leaving behind bitter words for the team. The baseball world is in turmoil over his unexpected departure, but the rumored "next team" for the great manager who built an evergreen winning team from the bottom of the standings is also unexpected.

Speculation Surrounds Former Orix Manager Satoshi Nakajima’s Move to Nippon Ham

Access Ranking