Okada resigns

Tigers kantoku Okada announced his resignation from Tigers yesterday. He will resign even if the team wins the Japan series. He took over in 2004 after Hoshino resigned due to ill-health. Okada's first year was poor with Tigers finishing in fourth place. However, he restructured the team to deliver a championship in 2005. He took the team to the Japan series but failed to win a game against Lotte. In 2006 his team finished second to a very strong Chunichi side but was getting a bit long in the tooth. A third place finish in 2007 saw the team enter the climax series but be eliminated in the first round. In 2008 the team once again finished second but led for most of the season and the fact that they blew a lead of 13 games over the eventual winners obviously had a great effect on Okada. An over conservative strategy and reliance on old players doomed the Tigers campaign. No replacement has been named though the name of Mayumi has already been floated. During his time as manager Okada faced considerable criticism from fans whose expectations were high and this undoubtedly had a bearing on his decision to resign.

Wow, that's a shocker, considering he had already been offered a job for next season. I wasn't a big fan of Okada, but always did feel a bit sorry for him. He had to take over for Hoshino, who was a legend among Tigers fans for what he did to turn the team around. Will be interesting to see how the team does without him. He was looking pretty listless during the collapse, so hope all is fine with his health.

Finally we can get a Manager who isn't scared of making a decision. Okada's record flatters his actual talent as a manager.

It will be interesting to see what happens without Okada. As I've said, I'm not a big fan, but we won't be able to tell until there's a new manager how good (or bad) he was. From what I have read, the team was still trying to get him to stay, but he looks worn out and I don't think he'll come back. I think the timing of his announcement was awful. The team is still in the Climax Series, so it's not like the season is over. I guess he just felt it necessary to take responsibility for the collapse. But it will be interesting to see how this announcement affects the team.

Given that he had a goodbye ceremony it would be difficult for him to return. If the side wins the Japan Series then there is a chance for him to return but I don't think it will happen. I tend to believe whatever his qualities he needed to resign after blowing the lead. He didn't have the ability to lead or motivate the team to win the pennant and this is unfortunately a big consideration.

Okada was a decent manager. He has managed to put Hanshin on top of the league table almost every year which is good concidering how Hanshin has been much through out their history. It was not too long ago Hashin always ended in last place. Okada was also one of the great players in the legendary 1985 Hanshin team. Okada together with Kakefu, Mayumi and Randy Bass will always have a special place for Hanshin fans.

He deserves respect and recognition for his achievements as a Hanshin manager. After a couple of very stressful seasons he probably wants to realx. Maybe we will see him not in the too distant future again as a Hanshin manager.

Considering the team asked him not to resign, it wouldn't be surprising if he came back in the future. For now he does need a rest, however. I think Tigers manager might be the most stressful position in NPB.

As I noted before, we won't know how good Okada was until we see the next manager. Okada had his faults, but I also think we have to commend him for always keeping the Tigers competitive the last few years. I don't think we have the talent level of teams like the Giants, but we were usually in the running for the pennant.

Candidates for the Tigers managers job are beginning to emerge. Internally the favoured candidate is Katsuhito Kido who's currently working as a coach with the Tigers. The favoured external candidate is Akinobu Maymumi who coached for Kintetsu. The fan favourite is Kakefu though Mayumi is also a popular choice.

I'm gonna miss "shakey head" as I call him and his "ma, no, ne, mo, na" press interviews.

I only just found this blog - it's great. Thanks to all concerned.

Kakefu would be a big favorite among fans. Mayumi too no doubt. I myself would like to see Kawato but the chances of that is probably very slim.

I have liked listening to Egawa and Kakefu as commentators on TV. I have wondered why they never have been asked to coach or manage a team? Could it be because they as players had some conflicts with the team management for their respective teams? Where as Hara and Okada were more obidient towards their respective teams?

So Christopher, what do you think of the timing of his announcement? He did the proper Japanese thing of taking the blame for not finishing in first. However, what annoys me is the season isn't actually over. Even if you don't finish first, you can still win in the Climax Series. So it seemed to me like his message was "It's my fault, this season was a failure. I quit." On the other hand, the team could rally to try to send him out a winner, but I just found the timing odd. Maybe not as odd as taking Andoh out in the 5th last night to put in Hiyama, but odd nonetheless.

I don't know if any of you know him, but Okada always reminded me of Premier League club Portsmouth's manager Harry Redknapp- the involuntary twitching and head shaking will be missed!

the involuntary twitching and head shaking will be missed!
Maybe Okada and Horiuchi (ex-Giants manager) can start a new comedy duo as the head-shaking clueless wonders!

Going back to your earlier post - Okada had two points when he could have resigned. Now and after the Climax Series. If he had won the Japan series he would have been under significant pressure to stay on and I don't think he wanted that. So by announcing his retirement he frees himself of the pressure. He was also under incredible fan pressure, the blowing of the pennant was not well received by the gaia and he had already been barracked mercilessly. The cheering groups were not happy and their pressure would have been significant.

Interesting insight, Christopher. Tonight's game was great, so hopefully we can win tomorrow. Like I said, one plus is maybe the Tigers will try extra hard to send him out a winner. We can only hope for that!