BC League’s Saitama Musashi Manager Ikuhiro Kiyota Steps Back Amid Reports — Club Issues Statement, He Denies Allegations

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The story

The BC League’s Saitama Musashi Heat Bears announced on August 27 that manager Ikuhiro Kiyota (40) would suspend his managerial duties for the time being, following certain media reports. Kiyota was also the subject of repeated affair reports during his time with the Chiba Lotte Marines, and the thread saw discussion spread not just over his own denial of the reports, but also over pay and name recognition in Japan’s independent baseball leagues.

Published 7:36 PM, Thursday, August 27

Sponichi Annex

The independent Route Inn BC League’s Saitama Musashi Heat Bears announced on the 27th that manager Ikuhiro Kiyota (40) would suspend his managerial activities for the time being.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

3AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:03
I want him on Jackpot (the YouTube talk show known for hosting scandal-hit celebrities)
9AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:06
At least get a love hotel, geez.
Car sex every time — what are you, a dragon?
12AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:07
This reeks of an inside whistleblower leak — he must've been seriously disliked in the clubhouse.
14AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:08
This is what happens when you make a criminal your manager 💢💢
20AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:13
Re: #14
Actually, this guy's never technically committed a crime
Having an affair isn't illegal, lol
32AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:21
Re: #14
A liar is the first step toward becoming a thief (old Japanese saying)
15AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:10
Suspended through the end of the season, then quietly let his contract lapse — that's probably how this ends.
16AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:11
Didn't know Kiyota was managing here.
19AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:13
Re: #16
Maybe he got hired because the team president is Kado, a Lotte junior of his.
18AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:13
Wait, a team like that even exists?
38AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:27
Re: #18
So it's kind of like JRA versus regional horse racing?
25AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:16
Kiyota's past screw-ups:

– Caught COVID, then lied to the team's internal investigation, claiming he hadn't eaten out
– A weekly tabloid exposed that he'd actually been secretly meeting his mistress and eating out with her every day during a 3-day Sapporo road trip
– On top of that, once his own infection was confirmed, he told his mistress not to get a PCR test to keep it covered up

[Baseball] Lotte's Ikuhiro Kiyota — there was more: embarrassing LINE messages with his affair partner surface [Laughing Gorilla★]
https://hayabusa9.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/mnewsplus/1611283915/
35AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:25
Re: #25
When you say Kiyota, it's the Puzzle & Dragons affair that comes to mind
Is he gonna hold a little memorial for 'Taiyo-kun' now? (a callback to that old scandal, where Taiyo-kun was a character he'd named)
30AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:21
The club will probably let it quietly blow over, and letting his contract expire at the end of the season is where this lands.
37AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:26
Re: #30
Even setting aside that it's an indie league, putting him in charge of a team with a fair number of ex-pros this soon was too rushed.
31AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:21
Re: #1
How is this league different from corporate/amateur (shakaijin) baseball?
40AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:30
Re: #31
The difference is zero spectators versus a dozen-ish people, mostly family 💦
43AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:35
Re: #31
In corporate baseball you're employed by a top company and draw a real salary, so you can actually live on it.
Indie leagues technically count as 'pro,' but you're only pulling in something like 100,000 yen a month during the season, so you can't make a living.
68AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:56
Re: #31
Guys on top companies' baseball teams get paid well.
I saw on TV that Honda's manager tells his players things like, 'Over a lifetime, you'll actually earn more staying at Honda than you would going pro.'

Honestly, corporate-league ball at a top company is basically semi-pro, while the indie leagues are just amateur ball with a 'pro' label slapped on.
34AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:25
Reminds me of back in his Lotte days — the very first day back from suspension over the COVID-era affair, and he'd already been caught on a date by Friday (the tabloid), lol

——
'Wait, is this going in Friday? Please, have mercy.'

'There's no point talking to me about it. It's literally my first day back. I'm finished.'
39AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:28
What a cheap affair.
Spell out exactly which part of the report he's denying.
42AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:35
Was he actually any good as a manager?
69AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:59
Independent pro baseball league.
Average attendance: 100 people.

…yeah, I guess you'd want to have an affair too.
72AnonymousAug 28, 2026 09:00
Re: #69
That's just using it as an excuse for cheating.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Livejupiter+) thread “[Baseball] BC League’s Saitama Musashi manager Ikuhiro Kiyota suspends activities — club issues statement following reports, he denies the content.”

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