It was reported last week that Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama will resign as of the end of the season. Kuriyama was the longest tenured manager in NPB, having lead the Fighters since 2012 (Giants manager Tatsunori Hara has lead Yomiuri since 2002 but not continuously). The Fighters made the playoffs five times during his eight years at the helm including two Pacific League pennants. The Fighters played in the Nippon Series twice during this time, losing the Giants in 2012 but beating the Carp in 2016.
Here's Kuriyama's card from the 2012 BBM 1st Version set (#028):
With Kuriyama's resignation the longest tenured managers in NPB are now Kimiyasu Kudoh of the Hawks and Koichi Ogata of the Carp. The two of them took over their teams in 2015.
UPDATE 10/2/19 - Apparently he's NOT resigning - the Fighters talked him into staying for at least one more season.
No comments:
Post a Comment