Great support from fans, but…Hanshin’s new manager, Kyuji Fujikawa, has a “blind spot” and “names of potential coaches who were turned down.”

Fujikawa Fever” in Kochi ……

The new manager of the Hanshin baseball team, Kyuji Fujikawa (44), has been raising his stock since he took over.

He has been serious about his new position, shutting down his SNS and YouTube channels immediately after taking office, declaring that he would avoid pitching relievers in consecutive games, setting up a batting lineup with a strong hitter in the second position, and saying that he would use both veterans and young players without distinction. ……

There is an atmosphere of hope that he will create a new form of Hanshin. Also, the fact that he successfully allowed Oyama to stay on, while observing that it was ‘the player’s right’ to declare FA, was one of the factors that greatly increased the fans’ appreciation of him.

On November 17, the first autumn camp of the Hanshin team was held in Aki City, Kochi Prefecture.

The camp was held in Fujikawa’s hometown of Kochi and was a great success, with TV stations broadcasting live reports every day. Kochi, which had been deserted since the withdrawal of the spring training camp, had not experienced Tigers fever for quite some time, and the local media was very active in covering the event.

The expectations of fans and the media have only increased. However, when we listened to the voices of the people on the ground, we found that something was not quite right. A Hanshin team official spoke in a hushed tone of voice.

Coaches who are not the best

It’s true that he is innovative and well-liked, but there are doubts about his ability to use the coaches. However, there are still doubts about whether he is able to make the most of his coaching staff. When Fujikawa took over as manager, he appointed Atsushi Fujimoto, 47, who served as the first-team infield defense base coach this season, as the general coach, who is in effect the head coach.

The position of head coach requires that the coach sometimes take the place of the manager and harshly reprimand the players, but Fujimoto is more of a leader who is close to the players, and this season there were many occasions when he was reprimanded by former manager Okada on the bench. The true feeling of those around him is that ‘Fujimoto-san is not a head …….

The two coaches Eishin Soyogi (44) and Eiichi Kotano (44), who joined the team from Orix in the same “Matsuzaka generation” as Fujikawa, are also of unknown ability. An Orix official said, ‘They are good at watching the front office, but they are not very good at coaching. Fujikawa’s empire is not as solid as people are making it out to be.

It seems that only veteran players have heard about this situation, and young players are happy to hear that they have been approached by their favorite coach. ……

The first thing to do is to make sure that you have a good team and that you have a good team. In fact, it would have been ideal to put Shinya Miyamoto (54) as the head coach. …… Some veteran players are concerned, ‘Can we really win with this lineup? The same applies to the other players.

Fujikawa has the support of the fans. Will he be able to dispel the concerns of those around him and raise his reputation among the pros with his results?