Bobby Fired, Fans React

It's been almost a month since my last Valentine article. And a great deal has happened during this time.

On October 17, General Manager Hirooka finally got Lotte's owner to agree to firing Valentine-kantoku on the grounds that Valentine "didn't fit in with Japanese baseball." Lotte's owner, coaches, players and fans all wanted Valentine back next year, but Hirooka-GM managed to out last all protests to have his dislike (jealousy?) of Valentine win out.

One major difference between Hirooka and Valentine was that Hirooka believed in practice, practice and more practice. Whereas Valentine thought that the team could use a rest after then end of the season, and said that Fall Camp wasn't necessary. This, I have to admit, goes against what most everyone in Japanese baseball believes in. But the plea that has come up again and again on the net and in the newspapers has been that if Valentine-kantoku's running of the team did not fit the local game, then how is it that Lotte finished above 4th place for the first time in 10 years? The news papers ask this question, the fans ask this question, but Hirooka always changes the subject.

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"Why not fire Hirooka?" many fans have asked. "What does a GM do?" is the question that is usually accompanied by it.

Lotte, this past season, was the only team with a "General Manager" that was not the regular kantoku (field manager). This was all part of a plan that Hirooka sold to Lotte to make the team a champion when he signed on with Lotte. What Hirooka wanted to do was to model the team after a Major League ball club. And for the first two years, he thought it would be best to get a Major League manager and staff to teach his team how to play like Major Leaguers. (The best part about this kind of package is that if the team does well, Hirooka gets the credit. If the team does poorly, it's the Manager's fault and he can be replaced. Of course, this will only work if the Manager is not very popular, which would be the case if the team loses.)

What happened is that Hirooka essentially made the ultimatum to fire Valentine or himself. This put Lotte's owner on the spot. Hirooka's plan calls for more than two years, which was the length of Valentine's contract. Going for Valentine was an image of a very popular person who could get the fans and the players fired up. Valentine-kantoku, like other popular managers like Nagashima-kantoku and Nomura-kantoku, has a character that appeals to a wide variety of people. Going for Hirooka was his long term plan to make the Marines stronger. The result was in favor of thinking of the future. It seemed to be the most stable in the long run to keep Hirooka to finish what he started.

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At the same press conference that the decision to fire Valentine-kantoku was given, Lotte announced that Minor League Head Coach Akira Ejiri will take over the as the new kantoku a year ahead of schedule. In accepting the position, Ejiri-kantoku said, "If we could raise the level by about 30%, I'm convinced that we could build a strong Lotte. I want to devote all of my effort toward Lotte's building of a strong team."

On November 4, Ejiri was officially introduced to 10,000 fans at Chiba Marine Stadium for Fan Appreciation Day (which came on Bunka no hi ["Culture Day"], a national holiday). When he stepped up to the microphone to address the crowd, a group of about 20 fans in the infield seats started the "Bobby Call" over Ejiri's voice on the loud speakers. Scattered banners saying "We Need Bobby", "Come Back Bobby 80", and others were scattered about the stadium. One group held cards up proclaiming Ejiri to be Hirooka's remote control ("Hirooka's puppet" would be the proper English translation, I believe). The police did not seem to know what to do with the unruly fans, as it was their day.

Meanwhile, another group of about 50 Valentine fans were protesting at one of Lotte's offices. They wanted to talk with someone that was not just a front person who would put them aside, but someone who was closer to the team to ask questions. After an hour and ten minute talk, the only thing that the two sides seem to have agreed on was that both sides want to make a good team for next year.

And while all of this was going on, Valentine-kantoku arrived at Narita Airport in northern Chiba for the Japan-US Joint Press Conference to be held on Monday, November 6. In the airport lobby, Bobby was shaking hands and signing autographs for fans. When asked what he planed for the day, he said that he wanted to "see some friends, answer whatever questions I'm asked, and get answers to those questions that I ask." (I've said it before, but this is a quote that was translated to Japanese and back to English. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the translation either way.) He said that if he could, he would like to meet with the fans. But he said that he wasn't sure how he could go about meeting with them at this time.

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kimoto@carp fan wrote:

I'm also sad.
This year's Chiba Lotte were really fun to go and watch!

Although it looks like he was fired on the GM's advice, add to Valentine that Franco and Hillman will also return; Is this something that we shouldn't be worried about?

At that, RBI leader Hatsushiba and Hori said something like "I rode (Valentine-) kantoku when I hit" in TV interviews; this worries me.

If next year Chiba Lotte finishes low, fans' discontent against Hirooka-GM will become very large.

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Pacific League's chairman said:

"The owner's decision may not be fatal, but it is regrettable."

The chairman is worried because this year there was an increase at the gates of 16.9% for Pacific League games. While a large part was due to super-star Ichiro, another contributing factor was attributed by his office to Valentine-kantoku's popularity.

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kato@hanshin fan wrote:

More than the record, more than anything, doesn't this have more affect on audience attendance? People were not coming to the ballpark because the Marines were winning (well, that too), but rather they came out because the games were fun... I think.

To fans, more than "a game that we won," they want to see "a game that was fun" (not meaning that they laughed) or "a game that is a life match." [Sorry, my translation doesn't sound very good.] When a player plays a fun game, that is when it is the most wonderful. And if they win, that makes it more wonderful, but even if they lose one, if left with the feeling like "that was enjoyable," or a delightful frustration like "dangit, we'll get 'em tomorrow" feeling, which is what people want from that kind of game.

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jun@hitachi wrote:

I'll never forget Valentine's carefree face!

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Lenn Sakata, who was the manager of Lotte's minor league (2-gun) team last year, was told that he was to coach at 2-gun next season. Lotte plans to put previous Seibu 2-gun kantoku Kuroe at the position of 2-gun kantoku. Sakata says that his contract is to be 2-gun kantoku for two years, and that he has no intention of wearing a uniform as a coach. If he is demoted, then it will be taken by him as meaning that he has been fired.

On November 3, Thomas Robson was contacted in Arizona and told that he will be demoted from 1-gun hitting coach to 2-gun hitting coach. His contract also states that he is to be 1-gun hitting coach for two years. Because he has not yet talked with the ball club at all about next year, said that if this is true (his demotion) that he will have to meet with Lotte as well.

If Hirooka's is trying to get rid of these two like he tried to make Valentine quit, then I'm afraid that he may be in for more of a battle.

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Source: Nikkan Sports and news:fj.rec.sports.baseball

[Updated layout format on Feb 14, 2005 10:14 PM JST]