<figure id="attachment_227842" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 904px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227842"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1a1af293"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/2022020107487.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227842" class="wp-caption-text">Manager Yano greets officials at the start of camp in Ginowan, Okinawa (Image: Kyodo News)</figcaption></figure>
 The players are said to have froze when they heard what their manager had to say.
 On January 31, a general meeting was held at 5 p.m. at the camp site in Ginowan, Okinawa. Manager Yohdai Yano, 53, said it was important to fill the hole left by Suarez, the top save earner for two consecutive years, and then told them a surprising fact before saying, &#8220;One more thing.
 I&#8217;m thinking of quitting as manager at the end of this season.
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 A sudden announcement of his resignation. The players, who had not heard anything, were understandably upset. Moreover, the next day camp started and the season was about to begin in earnest.
 I&#8217;ve never heard of a resignation announcement on the day before camp. I&#8217;ve never heard of anyone announcing their resignation on the eve of camp,&#8221; said Yano, who seemed to have made up his mind right after the end of last season. I think he felt a sense of responsibility after Yakult snatched the championship from him at the last minute while he was leading the league by as many as seven games. He must have felt a sense of responsibility.
 When he reported the end of the season to the owner, Takaoki Fujiwara, on November 9 last year, Manager Yano announced his resignation. He was strongly consoled and decided to continue, but he told the owner that it would be for one year only. The executives of the baseball team knew about this announcement in advance. But I guess they really didn&#8217;t expect him to actually say it,&#8221; said a reporter from a sports paper.
<h2>Will it be good for me?</h2>
 After the general meeting in Okinawa, Yano spoke to the press in an online interview.
 I want to challenge myself. After the general meeting in Okinawa, Yano told the press in an online interview, &#8220;I want to challenge myself, and I thought it would be good for the team, the players, and, I&#8217;m sorry to say, for me.
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 Depending on how you look at it, his resignation could be seen as an abdication of responsibility. This could lead to a loss of motivation for the players, who were eager to get going the day before the camp.
 Yano, for better or worse, is a direct and passionate leader. In July of last year, he cried when his team came back from three runs down to win a game against DeNA in the ninth inning, saying, &#8216;I&#8217;m moved. In the same July game against Yakult, when Munetaka Murakami pointed out that he was suspected of stealing autographs, he shouted from the bench, &#8220;I would never do that, you idiot! I&#8217;m not going to do it!
 I think he couldn&#8217;t hide his resignation this time either, so he announced it. Of course, I think Yano has his own intentions. By announcing his resignation, he hoped to inspire the players. I think he is hoping to inspire the players by announcing that he is stepping down, and to inspire the players to bring flowers to the departing manager, so that he can win the Japan championship, which he failed to do last year.
 It seems that the timing of the announcement, a day before the camp, was not only due to Yano&#8217;s personal situation. It is said that there were some personnel changes that foreshadowed this.
 It is said that there was a foreshadowing in the appointment of two important people who had shown understanding toward Yano, who was often criticized as the manager of a popular baseball team. Fujiwara, the owner of the team, and Osamu Tanimoto, the team&#8217;s vice president, who strongly requested that Yano continue as manager.
 Mr. Fujiwara resigned from his position as president of the team on January 1. Mr. Tanimoto will become the general manager of the Sports and Entertainment Division at the headquarters of Hanshin Electric Railway on January 31, the day Yano was announced as the manager. The loss of his &#8220;backer&#8221; must have affected Yano in no small way. I don&#8217;t think he had anything to do with the announcement of his resignation the day before the camp.
 This season is the year of the Tiger. Will the &#8220;Yano Tigers&#8221; be able to win the championship and finish the season on a high note?

 Kyodo News

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