Yakult Moves to Appoint Shinya Miyamoto as New Manager—PL-Style Passion to Lead Rebuild

There is growing anticipation and calls from fans

Yakult, currently languishing near the bottom of the Central League standings since the season began, continues to struggle without showing signs of recovery.

“While all Central League teams, including first-place Hanshin, ended up with losing records in interleague play this year, Yakult managed to fall even further behind, accumulating more losses at a faster pace. As a result, there wasn’t even a hint of an underdog uprising. Their chances of winning the championship outright have already vanished. It wouldn’t be surprising if the manager steps down mid-season, just like what happened with Seibu last year,” said a former team official.

Within the organization, rumors are already swirling about staff changes for next season.

“It’s widely believed that manager Shingo Takatsu (56) will take responsibility for the slump and step down. The big question is who will take over next. There has long been buzz about bringing in former head coach Shinya Miyamoto (54), and recently, there’s been a lot of chatter around him.”

Miyamoto served as the first-team head coach under manager Junji Ogawa in 2018 and 2019, right after his retirement as a player. However, after the team suffered 16 consecutive losses in the 2019 season, he resigned. He currently works as a baseball analyst and a YouTuber.

Known for his background at the prestigious PL Gakuen High School, Miyamoto has a reputation for strict but thoughtful coaching. However, during his tenure as head coach, rumors surfaced about friction with some of the key players. While many fans and team alumni support the idea of him becoming manager, current players reportedly feel uneasy.

“One notable example of his intense coaching is infielder Munetaka Murakami (25), who once won the Triple Crown. Within the baseball world, it’s well known that Murakami is afraid of Miyamoto, and they still don’t interact much. But since Murakami is expected to move to the majors either this offseason or the next, the club isn’t too concerned about this issue.”

Another factor boosting Miyamoto’s prospects is the leadership change following the passing of Takeshi Kinugasa, the former team representative and acting owner, who was involved when Miyamoto resigned.

“Miyamoto himself hasn’t made any public statements about his interest in managing, but a close media contact of his has started intelligence gathering—investigating what kind of manager the front office is looking for and feeding that information back to Miyamoto,” according to a team insider.

If the team chooses to stay internal with the appointment, another possibility is promoting Takahiro Ikeyama (59), who has been managing the farm team since 2020.

“Ikeyama is well-liked, but his farm team hasn’t been winning, so there are doubts about his ability as a leader. Ultimately, what the team needs is a shake-up. Everyone knows Miyamoto’s approach will be tough, and it may cause friction, but it seems tone-deaf for players on a last-place team to be asking for gentle, lenient coaching,” said the former team official.

What Yakult needs right now might just be that no-nonsense, PL-style discipline.