<figure id="attachment_420836" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-420836" style="width: 2168px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="82ad02d9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/04/1113473598cb88d4b516ed74244ea357.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-420836" class="wp-caption-text">Ma-kun, who started the April 3 game against Chunichi, pitched five innings, allowing one run on five hits, and earned his first win in 586 days.</figcaption></figure>
 The Abe Giants are off to a good start, leading the series with a 5-4-1 record after the first 10 games of the season (as of April 8).
 The team was apparently so disappointed in missing out on the Japan Series last season that they made a major reinforcement this offseason, acquiring Trey Cabbage (27), who hit a triple in 3A, Rider Martinez (28), a guardian god from Chunichi, and Takuya Kai (32), a regular catcher from SoftBank.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 The new players are playing well and giving momentum to the team. Cabbage was a player we had wanted for a long time, and Riedel&#8217;s performance was as expected, but Kai is hitting .375, which is a nice miscalculation. Manager Shinnosuke Abe (46) had initially planned to replace Kai at the critical moment, and he had been racking his brains trying to decide who would be the catcher he would bring in after that.
 (Sportswriter Yamato Fujimoto) &#8220;On the other hand, if the team fails to win with this kind of strength, it would send a chill down Manager Abe&#8217;s neck. One of the concerns is that Masahiro Tanaka (36), who was one of the major reinforcements, will become &#8220;Iwakuma-ized.
 Masahiro Tanaka, 36, was part of the big reinforcement, and is feared to be becoming &#8220;Iwakuma-ized,&#8221; according to one source. He is a former right fielder for Japan&#8217;s national team returning from the majors and is on the verge of 200 wins in Japan and the U.S., but he doesn&#8217;t have the pitching prowess of yesteryear. There&#8217;s a vague aura of negativity in the air, or so &#8230;&#8230;. Iwakuma retired after two years with the team without ever making a single appearance on the mound, but Tatsunori Hara (66) himself was involved in the acquisition of Iwakuma, so the staff and the media treated him as if they were touching a tumor.
 Tanaka, who was &#8220;Abe&#8217;s case,&#8221; got his 198th win on April 3 against Chunichi, but left the game in the 5th inning. It was a victory on thin ice with all relievers pitching. He was removed from the roster after pitching in the game.
 He will probably pitch for Chunichi or another team with a weak batting lineup in the future, but if the starting rotation collapses and relievers are overworked in order to assist Tanaka&#8217;s bid to join the Famous Baseball League, it would be a complete disaster. &#8230;&#8230;
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h2> Fujikawa&#8217;s Hanshin team also has concerns: &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
 The shadow of Hara is said to be hanging over Hanshin&#8217;s manager, Kyuji Fujikawa (44), who was beaten three times by the Giants at Tokyo Dome.
 Fujikawa said he would carry on the Okadaism, but what he is doing is the exact opposite of Okada&#8217;s baseball style, in that he has Teruaki Sato (26) practice in the outfield and has three left-handed batters in the lineup starting at first,&#8221; said a Hanshin reporter for a sports paper.
 In fact, the reporter went on to say, &#8220;There seems to be a crack between the two.
 The team gave Okada-san (Akufu, 67) the post of advisor and said, &#8216;He doesn&#8217;t appear in the media much,&#8217; but from the opening game he was on TV commentating (laughs). He was frank and funny, but it was not good for him to be criticized. Okada-san is the only Hanshin manager still alive who has won the championship, so no one can argue with him.
 One of Fujikawa&#8217;s controversial decisions has become a source of controversy. A veteran baseball reporter confides, &#8220;Starting this season, the smoking area at Koshien has been removed and smoking has been banned entirely.
 When Okada-san was manager, he used to go to the lounge behind the benches after each inning and have a pakapaka. Some people were talking about whether this was another denial of Okadaism.
 In fact, Fujikawa himself confessed on a radio program that he is a &#8220;Tatsunori Hara type.
 He described Okada-san as &#8220;a person who shows leadership,&#8221; and even said that he thinks it is the manager&#8217;s job to make decisions, leaving coaching and strategic planning to the coaches. He has a calm image, but when a senior commentator, A, an alumnus of the team, wrote a critical article in a sports paper, he grabbed the reporter and told him, &#8220;You don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s going on, so tell A. He may be like Mr. Hara in the way he stands up to hostile media with his love for the team behind him.
 (A reporter from the Yugun team) &#8220;I can certainly sense the young general-ism in his frequent use of the mysterious phrase, &#8216;It&#8217;s day by day, so I&#8217;ll see you tomorrow.
<figure id="attachment_420834" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-420834" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="88b304cd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/04/cba5e43c2eea6457bbc8c12977da94cd.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-420834" class="wp-caption-text"> Kai, whose batting has been exploding since the season opener, has replaced Elie Hernandez (30) as the No. 5 hitter since the April 6 game against Hanshin.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_420835" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-420835" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c2d3bc64"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/04/14ede7ca971e0a0ef6ac8cf55318b64a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-420835" class="wp-caption-text"> Manager Fujikawa shows his commitment to winning by having ace reliever Daichi Ishii (27) pitch three straight games in the third game of the season opener.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" DeNA, Yakult, and Chunichi..."></div>
<h2>Bauer is worried about his &#8220;wife</h2>
 DeNA, which defeated Hanshin and the defending champions, the Giants, to win the top division in Japan, spent an estimated 900 million yen to bring back Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Trevor Bauer, 34, to help them win their first league championship since 1998. However, he was unexpectedly struck off the roster after only one game.
 The condition of his upper body is a cause for concern, but the issue of his &#8220;partner&#8221; should not be overlooked either. In fact, in 2011, when he was very active, Bauer and Hikaru Ito (35) worked together for 18 games. In the off-season, they were so well matched that they wrote on SNS, &#8220;We couldn&#8217;t have made it through the season without you,&#8221; but they only worked with current regular catcher Yudai Yamamoto (26) for one game. On March 29, his first day of the season, he worked with Yamamoto and allowed only one run in six innings, but he allowed six hits and had a bases-loaded jam with no outs. He was shaking his head at signs far more than when he worked with Ito, and his speed was not up to par,&#8221; said Fujimoto.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 The manager Daisuke Miura (51), whom owner Tomoko Namba (62) loves dearly, &#8220;has the makings of a long-term regime,&#8221; according to a Central League baseball team organizer.
 Meanwhile, there is said to be some discord between Yakult manager Shingo Takatsu (56) and their main gun, Munetaka Murakami (25).
 It all started back in the spring training camp. Murakami was asked to protect the right field during free hitting, and he replied to the press, &#8216;I want to be ready in case they ask me to do it,&#8217; but he was clearly unhappy about it. I&#8217;m sure that Takatsu had a parental feeling that if he was going to play in the majors, he should be able to play the outfield as well. Perhaps he didn&#8217;t get the message, but there was still a draft blowing between the two, and in the meantime Murakami had to leave the team due to an upper-body condition. Some teammates questioned Murakami, who had been approved by the team to try out for the Majors in the off-season, saying, &#8220;How can he behave like that when he is being encouraged to pursue his dream? Some say this led to the three consecutive losses on the opening day of the season.
 The aforementioned Central League team organizer believes that the departure of manager Takatsu is also a factor in the team&#8217;s struggles.
 Acting owner Tsuyoshi Kinugasa, who passed away in February, told people around him, &#8216;After Takatsu, Nobuchika Aoki (43, special assistant to the GM) will be next. There are calls for him to retire at the end of the season, so it must be difficult for both the players and the manager himself. The Yankees, who have been dumped by Japanese stars Shohei Otani (30) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (26), are said to be interested in acquiring Murakami, their first big gun since Hideki Matsui (50). If his departure is a foregone conclusion, they will have to prepare a replacement at third and develop a Japanese cannon as well. Yakult will have a hard time competing this season.&#8221;
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 Last year it was the Giants, this year it is Hanshin, and next year Chunichi will celebrate the 90th anniversary of its founding.
 Even with the loss of Martinez and mainstay pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara (27), our pitching staff is one of the best in the league. The problem is the lack of scoring. There are high expectations for Nobuhiko Matsunaka, 51, the only Triple Crown winner in the Heisei era, but he doesn&#8217;t have a good reputation among the &#8230;&#8230; players. He&#8217;s a dedicated teacher, but he&#8217;s always talking about how he used to do things and how he did them when he was Reiwa&#8217;s age. &#8230;&#8230;
 Although the team is likely to be plagued by poor hitting again this season, the aforementioned Mr. Fujimoto asserts, &#8220;There is a silver lining! Fujimoto assures us, &#8220;There is a silver lining!
 He was a scorer in the WBC and Premier 12, and joined the Giants in 2006. Munehiro Shida, 45, game strategy analyst and coordinator, who was in charge of the pitching staff last season and helped Tomoyuki Sugano (35) make a comeback, has joined the Dragons this season. Apparently, Manager Abe was not happy with the way the catchers led last season, so he invited Hideki Hashigami (59) to join the team as strategy coach. Mr. Shida was forced out. People in the baseball world are paying close attention to how the brilliant analyst will revive the strong dragon batting lineup.
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-start"></div>
<a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/420856">For</a> the second part, click here.
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>
<figure id="attachment_420833" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-420833" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f75a714d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/04/60c17f0ec95f566f2374aa82c2e3280b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-420833" class="wp-caption-text"> Bauer&#8217;s knuckle curve is still strong, but the speed of his fastball is declining.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_420838" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-420838" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d7766101"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/04/9f21796df4e2d305bdb0efec5866c5e9.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-420838" class="wp-caption-text"> Manager Takatsu smiles as he watches Murakami&#8217;s (left) sharp swing. He has already returned to action with the second team, and an early promotion is awaited.</figcaption></figure>
 From the April 25-May 2, 2025 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY

 With the start of the professional baseball season, FRIDAY recently made a prediction on the winning teams of the two leagues based on past data, but this time we will reveal the secret behind-the-bench information that the reporters can't write about! Is Ma-kun turning into Iwakuma? Yakult's "final year duo" is a perfect match? And more...

 The baseball spring has arrived! Special Report: Giants' Leaders Fear "Ma-kun's Becoming Iwakuma" / Hanshin Manager Fujikawa "Becomes a Young General" / Yakult's "Final Year Combination" is a Perfect Batch!

Opening Day 2025: Ten times more fun if you read this! Behind the Benches of Professional Baseball&#8217;s Secret Benches that the Reporters Can&#8217;t Write About: Central League Edition

Opening Day 2025: Ten times more fun if you read this! Behind the Benches of Professional Baseball’s Secret Benches that the Reporters Can’t Write About: Central League Edition

Access Ranking