Coach Dong-yeol's Nagoya-era teammate, Tatsunami Junichi resigned (Min Chang-ki's Japanese baseball) as he was humiliated to be in last place for three consecutive years

Sep 19, 2024

Coach Dong-yeol's Nagoya-era teammate, Tatsunami Junichi resigned (Min Chang-ki's Japanese baseball) as he was humiliated to be in last place for three consecutive years
Chunichi coach Tatsunami announced on the 18th that he would step down after the end of this season after losing at Hanshin on the 18th. Tatsunami has been on the verge of losing the game for three consecutive years since he took the helm. Photo capture = Chunichi Dragons SNS
It's time to take responsibility for your grades.

Former national team coach Sun Dong-yeol's teammate Kazuyoshi Tatsunami (55) will step down. Coach Tatsunami announced that he would resign after the end of the season after the home game against the Hanshin Tigers at the Banterin Dome in Nagoya on the 18th. At the end of 2021, he will step down as the Chunichi head coach after three seasons.

He was not able to produce results in his third year in office. I will finish by taking responsibility." This season is the last year of the three-year contract. Junichi is going to be at its worst again this year.

On the day, Chunichi lost to Hanshin 8-3. He was dragged 2-3 until the sixth inning, but in the second half, the bullpen collapsed and suffered a crushing defeat. It has been three consecutive losses since the game against the Yomiuri Giants on the 15th. He lost 10 games (4 wins) in 14 games held in September. It goes deeper and deeper into the quagmire.

He fell to the bottom of the Central League after being defeated by Yakult Swallows, who captured the Hiroshima Carp on the 18th. As of the 18th, when he played 134 games, he had 54 wins, eight draws and 72 losses, and a winning rate of 4209. It is 0.5 games behind fifth-place Yakult and 10.5 games behind fourth-place Yokohama BayStars. There are nine games left.

He tried to reform the team and take another leap forward, but failed.

From the first year of the head coach, he came in last, half a game behind Hiroshima. In 2023, when the team was reorganized and hit, it finished at the bottom again. He changed foreign players and hired young players, but he stayed in place. He finished last for the second consecutive year, trailing Yakult in the winning percentage without a ride.

He strengthened his batting line by recruiting Sho Nakata, who became an FA (free agent) from Yomiuri last winter. The flow was good at the beginning of the season. He once led the way in April with six consecutive wins.

However, the rise did not last long. Since June, he has not been able to go down to the B-Class (4th to 6th place out of 6 teams).

Coach Dong-yeol's Nagoya-era teammate, Tatsunami Junichi resigned (Min Chang-ki's Japanese baseball) as he was humiliated to be in last place for three consecutive years
Chunichi won six straight games in April to take the lead for the first time in eight years, but its rise did not last long. He lost to Hanshin on the 18th, falling behind Yakult and falling to last place. Photo capture = Chunichi Dragons SNS
The poor batting line-up held back. Chunichi ranks last in scoring among the six Central League teams. It is more than 120 points fewer than the Yokohama BayStars, who are ranked first in this category. Nakata, who had high expectations, also failed to operate normally due to injuries.

The dark ages get longer. Chunichi last won the Japan Series in 2007 and the league in 2011. For 11 years from 2013 to last year, he played fall baseball only once in 2020.

Tatsunami, a former member of the prestigious Osaka PL Academy, joined Chunichi in 1988 as a rookie. He played only as a Chunichi player for 22 seasons until 2009. As a right-handed left-handed infielder, he played 2,586 games and posted 2,480 hits, a .285 batting average, 171 homers, and 1,037 RBIs. He had triple-digit hits in 16 seasons. He has a record of 487 doubles. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.

However, player Tatsunami and manager Tatsunami were different.

At the opening of the season, a leader from PL Academy was at the helm of three of the 12 teams. Kazu Matsui
Coach Dong-yeol's Nagoya-era teammate, Tatsunami Junichi resigned (Min Chang-ki's Japanese baseball) as he was humiliated to be in last place for three consecutive years
Takahashi, who started against Hanshin on the 18th, scored three runs in six innings and became a losing pitcher. Photo capture = Chunichi Dragons SNS
Oh (49) will be replaced at the end of May, and Tatsunami will step down. Now, only coach Toshiaki (41) remains on the forehead of the Rakuten Eagles.





huelva@sportschosun.com