OB Saburo and Kuroki return following a long hiatus
Lotte announced the coaching staff for next season on the 14th. With the appointment of Rihito Yoshii as the new director, the system was also renewed. As a new position, Mr. Hidekazu Mitsuyama, who joined Kintetsu at the same time as Director Yoshii, will be appointed as the 1st and 2nd army general coach and general coordinator, and Mr. Makoto Kaneko, who retired from Nippon-Ham, will be appointed as the strategic coach. With this announcement, the coaching staff of all 12 NPB teams for the next season have been completed.
The return of OB is also one following another. Saburo, who used to be a scouting advisor at Rakuten, will be the 2nd Army manager, and Tomohiro Kuroki, who was once known as the “Soul Ace”, will return as the 1st Army pitcher coach following 16 years since retiring from active duty in 2007. .
In addition, Takahiro Matsunaga, who retired this season, has been appointed as a training pitcher coach and a second army pitcher coach.