Despite suffering a significant and painful loss to the Giants... We take a fresh look at the reasons why Hanshin manager Okada is so intent on winning back-to-back titles for the first time in the team's history: Chunichi Sports, Tokyo Chunichi Sports (chunichi.co.jp)
巨人に大きな、そして痛い１敗を喫したが… 阪神・岡田監督が球団史上初の『連覇』にこだわる理由、あらためて考えてみた：中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ (chunichi.co.jp)
It is an excellent article for sports fans and baseball fans.
I've been a fan of the Giants since Nagashima, but my enthusiasm has cooled considerably in recent years.
Hara and Abe, who think that wielding power is what being a manager is all about, have repeatedly used the bunt, the very symbol of power, in the second and third spots, where they should be using powerful hitters.
I'm not too fond of it when the manager calls for a bunt in the first inning or other early innings with no outs and runners on first or second base.
It's not high school baseball, and what's more, the players who have won a place in the starting lineup for the first team, which is even more challenging to get into than a top university, are ordered to bunt, which only increases the number of outs and lowers the probability of scoring.
It is particularly unforgivable because of how Abe destroyed Akihiro at spring training this year and how the Hochi Shimbun defended him.
Abe must make up the difference between Akihiro's salary and his salary.
Akihiro would be better off leaving the Giants.
All the teams except for the Giants will submit high-priced offers to him.
If necessary, he should leave Japanese professional baseball, where the culture of power harassment in high school baseball has not changed, and go to the major leagues with a death-defying resolve.
As long as the manager is a fool who says things like "He was the sixth player selected in the draft" at press conferences about a talent like Akihiro,
there is no chance for him to play, let alone the possibility of his career being cut short.
In recent years, my enthusiasm as a Yomiuri Giants fan has declined significantly, so I enjoy watching the attractive players of other teams.
Needless to say, I watch Ohtani every day as my greatest daily pleasure.
Regardless of what Abe says, the battle for the final place in the Central League this year is interesting.
As a fan of the Giants, for that reason I find myself rooting for Hanshin as the winning team, as a Kansai person.
Like last year, whether the batting average is 220 or 230 because Okada is a great manager, he continues to use Morishita as the main batter.
It is not because he wants him to bunt.
He is a hitter who hits when it counts, and his keen eye values his qualities as a strong hitter who always swings for the full count.
His eye for talent is far superior to Abe, who rates Kadowaki higher than Akihiro.
If it were Okada, he would have kept using Sakamoto and won the championship long ago.
After finding the above article, I felt even more inclined to root for the Hanshin Tigers to win the championship.
2024/9/5 in Onomichi, Hiroshima
