Ex-Lotte Manager Iguchi Named Samurai Japan Chief

Tokyo, July 25 (Jiji Press)–Tadahito Iguchi, a former manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines, a Japanese professional baseball team, has been appointed the new manager of the Japanese national baseball team, nicknamed Samurai Japan, the country’s Nippon Professional Baseball Organization said Saturday. The 51-year-old former Major League Baseball player will lead the team through the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. “Samurai Japan is a team that aims to be the best in the world,” Iguchi said at a press conference in Tokyo on Saturday. “My first goal is to lead the team to an Olympic medal.” His first assignment will be the Asia Professional Baseball Championship in November, a tournament mainly featuring young players. In 2027, Samurai Japan will compete in the Premier12 international competition, which will also serve as a qualifier for the Los Angeles Olympics. Samurai Japan can earn a berth in the 2028 Games by finishing as the highest-ranked Asian team in the Premier12. Samurai Japan failed to reach the semifinals at the World Baseball Classic for the first time in March, prompting the departure of previous manager Hirokazu Ibata. Katsuhiko Nakamura, chairman of the Samurai Japan strengthening committee, who attended the press conference with Iguchi, referred to the next WBC, the timing of which has yet to be determined, saying, “We hope manager Iguchi will lead the team in that tournament as well.” Iguchi won a silver medal with Japan at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics while a student at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. Selected in the first round of the 1997 draft by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, the predecessor of the SoftBank Hawks, he established himself as a hard-hitting second baseman with speed. Iguchi moved to the U.S. Major League Baseball in 2005 and helped the Chicago White Sox win the World Series in his rookie season. After returning to Japan in 2009, he played for the Chiba Lotte Marines before retiring in 2017. He then managed the club from 2018 to 2022. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]