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The story
Following Kudo Kimiyasu’s appointment as the new manager of the Chunichi Dragons, 5ch buzzed over a theory long debated online: “that manager only won because he had a stacked roster.” Now Kudo himself would be the one to put it to the test. Kudo boasts a track record of three Japan Series titles during his time at SoftBank, but this time he’s taking the helm of Chunichi, a team that’s often fought for last place in recent years. With attention turning to how far he can go with a thin roster, the thread expanded into comparisons with past legendary managers like Mori Masaaki and Ochiai Hiromitsu, as well as the ongoing debate among Chunichi fans over whether the manager or the front office deserves the blame.
What people said
If the Chunichi Dragons actually get strong, the internet theory's busted for good.
A manager who won it all by spending big on reinforcements now taking over the weakest team in NPB.
Hoshino did it with Rakuten though.
Manager Mori went from Seibu to Yokohama.
Chunichi fans probably care more about this one.
They're always fighting about it — the "manager's incompetent" camp versus the "front office is the problem" camp.
I thought of that one too, but —
after Gondo went 1st-3rd-3rd, Mori went 3rd-6th, and it was a dark age from there on.
You could actually argue Mori made the team weaker.
The "anyone could win with that kind of money!" crowd always shows up to rip on them.
Ouch, that's hitting home, that's hitting home.
Funny how nobody ever brings up how badly those three guys' successors flopped.
This time it's the reverse case.
Fujimoto Hiroshi: "Yeah, that's right."
Orix's Moriwaki: "What about me?"
They made A-class though. ("A-class" = top half of the standings in NPB)
That's a team that used to be A-class all the time, until he dropped them to last place and plunged them into a dark age.
Classic reminder: Chunichi just never made Ogasawara an offer.
There's no beating last year's offseason zombie though.
Then Chunichi might actually have a shot at the pennant race.
Wouldn't that just mean Yokohama wins it?
he might actually bat Hosokawa 6th lol
Is that the ghost of Inoue coming back?
That Chunichi could probably even beat the current SoftBank.
No way they'd win.
Classic reminder: they actually lost back then.
Ochiai was weak in the Japan Series though.
They're less likely to come than to Lotte.
If it were someone with no gig as a commentator, TV personality, or YouTuber, sure, but
for Kudo, that kind of money probably isn't enough to outweigh the downsides — the stress and the criticism he'd be exposed to.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Kudo Kimiyasu built a track record of three Japan Series titles and two league pennants during his time managing SoftBank (2015-2021). Chunichi, meanwhile, has languished in the B-class for years and is widely considered one of the thinnest rosters among NPB’s 12 teams — and that’s the team he’s now taking over. The theory that “any manager could win with a well-stocked roster” has been leveled before at Hara Tatsunori, Ochiai Hiromitsu, and Kudo himself, and the thread found it amusing that this time Kudo would be testing the theory on himself. Opinions split over how to evaluate the records of past Chunichi managers like Mori Masaaki and Gondo Hiroshi — several examples came up of managers taking over in similar circumstances who got wildly different results, leaving the sense that no single rule can explain it all. The debate among Chunichi fans over whether the manager is incompetent or the front office is to blame is touched on in the thread, but no consensus was reached on which side is right.
*This article is composed of excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Chunichi] Kudo Kimiyasu Is Here to Settle the Internet’s “That Manager Only Won Because He Had the Talent” Theory.”
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