The Secret Behind Yakult’s Stunning Revival? It All Starts in the Clubhouse Bath

The magic of encouragement, the magic of listening

“It may be disrespectful to my former team, but honestly, I never expected them to be this high in the standings (laughs). That said, professional baseball isn’t so easy that you can reach first place by pure luck. This year’s Swallows are genuinely strong.”

— Former Yakult Swallows player Tetsuya Iida

Before the start of the March professional baseball season, more than 100 baseball commentators submitted their preseason predictions, and nearly 90 percent picked the Yakult Swallows to finish last. It was hardly an unreasonable forecast. During the offseason, cleanup hitter Munetaka Murakami (26) departed for Major League Baseball, leaving an enormous void in the lineup, while three-time Triple Three winner Tetsuto Yamada (33) was relegated to the farm team because of injury.

Yet defying those expectations, Yakult is now locked in a fierce battle with the Hanshin Tigers for first place.

Why are the Swallows so strong this season? What kind of magic has manager Takahiro Ikeyama (60) worked to elevate the team’s performance?

According to Iida, “Since Ikeyama became manager, the atmosphere around the team has completely changed.”

“With such a young roster, I think Ikeyama firmly believes in creating an environment where players aren’t afraid to fail. When I was a young player, I served as Ikeyama’s ‘heyago’ (personal attendant), and back then he had such an overwhelming presence that he was intimidating simply by being in the room.

But now he smiles in the dugout and constantly offers words of encouragement to his players. For today’s players, that relaxed atmosphere probably makes it much easier to perform.”

Even so, no matter how energetic the bench may be, a team cannot win in professional baseball without effective tactical decisions.

This season, however, virtually every strategic gamble by Yakult has paid off—from its no-bunt baseball philosophy to its unconventional use of an eighth-place pitcher in the batting order. Fans and media alike have compared the managerial brilliance dubbed “Ikeya Magic” to that of the late legendary manager Katsuya Nomura, who led Yakult during its golden era.

But there is another side to the story.

“In reality, much of ‘Ikeya Magic’ is borrowed from others. For example, the idea of batting the pitcher eighth to alter the team’s offensive rhythm wasn’t Ikeyama’s invention—it came from hitting coach Tomoya Tsuboi (52).

When Tsuboi served as first-team hitting coach for DeNA, then-manager Alex Ramírez (51) occasionally batted his pitcher eighth depending on the opposing pitcher and the condition of his own lineup. When Tsuboi suggested the idea to Ikeyama, his response was immediate: ‘I like it!’ and he adopted it right away.

Tsuboi also advised him, ‘Let’s avoid showing the manager’s personality by sending up only your favorite players as pinch hitters or refusing to use a pinch hitter in key situations against conventional wisdom. If we stay consistent, batting the pitcher eighth will work.’

Manager Ramírez could be impulsive and sometimes abandoned strategies that had been working perfectly (laughs). Tsuboi’s advice was probably born from those bitter experiences.”

— A Yakult infielder

Baseball talk in the bathtub

Manager Ikeyama is also known for readily accepting his coaches’ advice when it comes to pitching management.

“Despite being a former position player, he’s remarkably attentive to his pitchers. For example, he removed ace Taichi Yamano (27) from the active roster on April 12 to allow him to recover from fatigue, and he has been careful to avoid using his relievers on three consecutive days. A large part of that approach comes from the advice of head coach Yuichi Matsumoto (45).

It’s unusual for a coach with a position-player background to offer input on pitcher management, but Matsumoto effectively served as head coach under former manager Shingo Takatsu (57). The methods he learned for managing a pitching staff are now being passed on to Ikeyama.

There are plenty of people in baseball who dislike carrying on their predecessor’s ideas, but Ikeyama is endlessly positive. He says, ‘If we try it and it works, great. If it doesn’t, we’ll just change it back!'”

— Team staff member “B”

Listening to his coaches while motivating the entire team sounds simple in theory, but the mental burden on a first-year manager is almost unimaginable. Yet Ikeyama is said to be literally washing away that stress as he navigates the season.

“Ikeyama absolutely loves taking baths. He was actually the first Yakult player to establish the team’s now-traditional voluntary spring training camp in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, and the reason was simple: he wanted to soak leisurely in the waters of Gongen Onsen after practice. That hasn’t changed. Even today, he’s known for spending more time than anyone else in the clubhouse baths at Jingu Stadium.”

— Team staff member “B”

Another club official, identified as staff member “C,” believes those long baths have unexpectedly become a key factor in unifying the team.

“Rather than discussing baseball in the dugout, Ikeyama prefers talking with people while soaking in the bath. After games, he heads straight for the clubhouse baths, where he reviews mistakes with the coaching staff and analyzes the plays that went well.

He probably has many of those discussions with Matsumoto and Tsuboi there as well. Sometimes they even decide player usage or the batting order while sitting in the bath together, so the players themselves pay attention to the manager’s bath time with great interest (laughs).

Whenever clubhouse staff happen to be there, he’ll say things like, ‘Sorry things have been so hectic since I became first-team manager. Thanks for everything you do!’

The staff had been worried after coach Shigeru Sugimura (68)—who always looked after the behind-the-scenes personnel—left after last season. But Ikeyama stepped in, telling them, ‘Now it’s my turn.’ He also takes staff members out for meals during road trips. That’s why everyone—the coaching staff, clubhouse personnel, and players alike—is able to fight together as one.”

The true source of the Ikeyama-era Swallows’ success may not lie on the field at all—it may be found in the clubhouse bath.

From the June 19, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”