Nippon-Ham Manager Shinjo Plots to “Surpass Kuriyama”… “The Motives of Each Team” Stirring Behind the Scenes of the Japan Series [Pacific League Edition]

Nippon-Ham Aims for Long-Awaited Pacific League Championship

The Japan Series—featuring SoftBank, aiming for back-to-back titles with its rock-solid strength, and DeNA, which finished third in the Central League but won six straight games in the Climax Series and is aiming for its first “underdog Japan Series championship” in two years—is finally set to begin on October 24.The remaining 10 teams have wrapped up their draft meetings and have begun building their rosters for next season, each with their own strategic goals in mind.

Nippon-Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo (54), whose team defeated Seibu to advance to the Climax Series Final Stage but then suffered three straight losses to SoftBank, will remain in his position next season as he aims for the long-awaited Pacific League championship.

“At the start of the season, Mr. Shinjo confided to reporters that ‘no matter what happens, this might be my last year,’ but recently he has become more positive about a long-term tenure, telling those around him, ‘I could even surpass Mr. Kuriyama (Hideki, 65), right?’Considering that Mr. Kuriyama served as Nippon-Ham’s manager for 10 years, Mr. Shinjo—now entering his sixth year in the role—seems determined to stay on for another five seasons,” said a sports newspaper reporter covering Nippon-Ham.

Meanwhile, the Seibu Lions—who outperformed the Nippon-Ham Fighters led by Manager Shinjo and put up a strong fight to finish second in the regular season—are delighted with the proceeds from the “retirement event” for legend Takumi Kuriyama (43), who retired this season.

“With sales of commemorative merchandise and fan club membership fees totaling over 100 million yen—far exceeding initial projections—the team is delighted, saying it will ‘serve as funding to strengthen the lineup.’When Goya Nakamura (43) and Ginjiro Sumitani (39)—both of whom are all but certain to continue playing next season—retire, the team plans to follow the ‘Kuriyama business model’: ‘announce retirement during the season → release commemorative merchandise → hold fan club-exclusive meet-and-greet events’” (team official)

Rakuten, which attempted a comeback under Manager Masato Yoshii (61) after employing the “drastic measure” of a mid-season managerial change, finished a distant last in the standings. The team faces a mountain of challenges.

“Previously, General Manager Kazuhisa Ishii (53) held significant authority over player deployment and roster moves between the first and second teams, but since the managerial change, Mr. Yoshii has essentially made all the decisions, with Mr. Ishii merely providing formal ‘approval.’Since Owner Hiroshi Mikitani (61) was the one who brought Mr. Yoshii on board, it’s said that the owner’s influence will grow again starting next season. To live up to expectations, Mr. Yoshii has already warned the pitching staff that there will be ‘no rest after the New Year,’ foreshadowing a grueling spring training camp,” said a team staff member.

Orix Faces Financial Strains

After key left- and right-handed starters Taiga Miyagi (25) and Shunpeita Yamashita (24) underwent Tommy John surgery in quick succession this season, the Orix Buffaloes have yet to resolve their serious issues with poor pitching staff management.

“Since Seiichiro Nakagaki (56), who served as the traveling head coach during the team’s three consecutive league championships, left the organization in ’24, there has been no one capable of managing the workload of the pitching staff.The team announced the departure of coaches Rui Makino (52) and Masafumi Hirai (51) in an effort to bring in new blood, but with plans to shift Soichiro Yamazaki (28) to the starting rotation, Orix’s situation remains dire,” said a sports newspaper editor.

At the Lotte Marines, where young players like Koki Yamaguchi (26)—who hit 38 home runs despite the team finishing fifth in the season—shone, a certain “incident” occurred regarding the generational transition.

“There was a clash between popular homegrown player Shogo Nakamura (34), whose departure was announced at the end of September, and Manager Saburo (50). Nakamura was in the final year of a four-year contract worth a total of 1 billion yen (estimated), but he failed to produce results even in the farm system and didn’t get any playing time on the first team.His impatience got the better of him, and it seems he went to the manager directly to ask, ‘Why won’t you put me in the game?’ Manager Saburo responded angrily, ‘Why should I use a veteran who’s only hitting a little over .200 even in the farm league?’ and the rift between the two deepened.

“Nakamura is a Waseda University graduate with a good ‘upbringing,’ and the team tried to find a compromise—suggesting he might join the front office in the future—to convince him to stay for next season, but in the end, they were unable to prevent him from leaving the team,” said a team staff member.

[Pro Baseball Offseason Wide] The “Behind-the-Scenes Work” Entrusted to Chunichi’s New Manager Kudo… “Each Team’s Calculations” Stirring Behind the Scenes of the Japan Series [Central League Edition]

From the November 6, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*