Before the official opening of the season on March 28, Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa (44) angrily made a &#8220;personnel move&#8221; to oust the manager. The incident, which caused everyone around him to become tense, took place on March 18.
<figure id="attachment_419183" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-419183" style="width: 1934px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6d622b96"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/32badad4e53b644b8d365c9e5baee53d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-419183" class="wp-caption-text"> Manager Fujikawa is already exerting tremendous influence.</figcaption></figure>
 Mr. Takashi Shimizu, 40, who had been the director in charge of farm organization since this season, was suddenly reassigned to the post of chief manager of the first team.
 There were two managers in charge of the first team, Yuya Nohara (40), a former player, and Tatsuji Wakatake (37), a former pitcher who has also played for Rakuten, who &#8220;infuriated&#8221; manager Fujikawa during camp.
 It all started with a moment of silence held on February 6 at the spring training camp following the death of Yoshio Yoshida, an alumnus of the baseball team. On that day, all the players and front office staff lined up on the field to remember the deceased, but for some reason, Manager Fujikawa was not there. It turns out that due to a miscommunication by the manager, the silent prayer was not conveyed to Fujikawa himself, and he was unintentionally &#8220;absent&#8221; from the event.
 In the March 5 open game, Shoji Ito (28) was announced as the starting pitcher, but new assistant pitcher John Duplantier (30) actually took the mound. This also appears to have been due to a miscommunication by the managers. In both cases, the details were kept under wraps by the team.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 The manager Fujikawa, a perfectionist, was not satisfied with the string of mistakes.
 He was furious, saying, &#8220;Mr. Fujikawa knows that the manager is the most important behind-the-scenes person on the team, so what are you doing? &#8216; He was furious. The team was upset and immediately discussed countermeasures.
 It was then decided to urgently recall Mr. Shimizu, a graduate of Kwansei Gakuin University, which is on the fast track to success in the Hanshin team, and who is likely to be entrusted with the front office of the team in the future, to cover for the mistake. Currently, there are three people in charge of the team, but Mr. Shimizu will be in charge of the main operations, and the two others have effectively been &#8220;ousted.
 Since most transfers are usually effective as of April 1, this exceptional personnel change became known to the entire baseball team.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 The post of farm director vacated by Mr. Shimizu&#8217;s transfer to first-arms manager was filled by a first-arms public relations person. This is what we call a &#8220;ball and chain&#8221; personnel move. The baseball team, perhaps anticipating the uproar that would ensue, has gently restrained the media from reporting the news. The team is probably trying to put out the fire by practically keeping quiet.
 (Sports newspaper reporter) Director Fujikawa was known as a master fire extinguisher during his working days. Will his speedy response prove to be a good thing or a bad thing?

 Kyodo News

 It has been learned that Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa (44) angrily announced a "personnel move" to oust Yoshio Yoshida before the official season opener on March 28. The incident, which made everyone around him tense, took place on March 18.

Hanshin Manager Kyuji Fujikawa decides to make an &#8220;unusual personnel change&#8221; by &#8220;not attending a silent prayer for Yoshio Yoshida.&#8221; &#8230;&#8230;

Hanshin Manager Kyuji Fujikawa decides to make an “unusual personnel change” by “not attending a silent prayer for Yoshio Yoshida.” ……

Access Ranking