Hanshin OB Feels Snubbed by Coach Fujikawa’s Cold Demeanor

For some reason, the Hanshin veteran is strict toward his old team

Under manager Kyuji Fujikawa (44), the Hanshin Tigers currently hold first place in the Central League. Despite the team’s strong performance, a certain problem has arisen.

“Fujikawa-san’s relationship with the team’s former players (OBs) isn’t very good. Normally, OBs tend to send positive support to Hanshin, especially after a good start early in the season, but for some reason, only critical comments have been coming in,” said a sports newspaper reporter covering the Tigers.

For example,

“During the second series against DeNA right after the season opener, a certain OB who works as a newspaper commentator harshly criticized the bullpen usage and player lineup in print. It was clearly an unusual situation, so when a reporter close to that OB was asked about it, they said, ‘He’s angry because even when he went to the stadium, Fujikawa didn’t properly engage with him.’” (source: Kansai TV station staff)

With newspapers struggling and cost-cutting leading to more remote commentary nowadays, one might think that not talking directly with the manager at the stadium wouldn’t be a big issue.

“Former manager Akihiro Okada (67) had allowed OBs to interview at the stadium, saying ‘You need to be able to cover the team,’ and actively communicated with them. Okada-san, being talkative, probably was a valuable person to vent to during his tenure.

But as for Fujikawa, he’s cautious about the team’s ‘leakage of confidential information,’ which is something of a Hanshin trademark, and treats all OBs coldly. If you look back to this February’s spring camp, they even announced in advance that ‘We might not be able to accommodate you.’ This way, the team can operate much more smoothly without troublesome OBs nagging. But among the OBs, this has been very unpopular. Essentially, they’re sulking, saying, ‘Kyuji doesn’t pay attention to us. Okada did, though’” (same source)

Two OBs in particular are especially sulky.

“One is Mr. A, a former pitcher. Though his playing career wasn’t very remarkable, he is highly respected and has close contacts within the team, gathering detailed information. The other is a big-name Mr. B, a former position player. Contrary to his refreshing image, he writes brutally honest commentary and is known within the baseball world as a hidden fighter. Neither has a bad relationship with Fujikawa, but they seem sad thinking, ‘Once he became manager, it’s not so easy to talk with him’ I understand both sides very well”

Let’s hope they can somehow get along well.