Kudo Kimiyasu — the storied manager who led SoftBank to four Japan Series titles — has been named the new manager of the Chunichi Dragons. The Dragons have stayed mired in a slump through the tenures of both Tatsunami Kazuyoshi and Inoue Kazuki as manager, so Kudo’s hire is being pitched as a rebuilding effort. But on 5ch, the question that caught fire was: why would a manager with Kudo’s track record take on a team that could tarnish his legacy? Optimists in the thread argued the risk is low — “if he loses, the front office takes the blame” and “even a 3rd-place finish would be seen as one of the greatest managerial feats ever” — while more cautious posters warned his reputation could take a hit, pointing to Mori Masaaki, whose standing suffered after managing the BayStars. Reactions were split right down the middle.
What people said
1AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:36
Mystery.
2AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:37
Doing badly at 'Chu-nichi' (slang for Chunichi) won't hurt anyone's career.
5AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:41
That makes it sound like Ichiro was some kind of heartless jerk.
6AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:42
But the passing grade is just finishing 3rd once during his tenure, right? That's not that high a bar.
7AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:43
Re: #6
That's an insanely high bar, reminder.
9AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:43
Apparently 'Tattsu' (nickname for a Chunichi club figure) was down on his knees bowing outside Kudo's door until he agreed to take the job.
10AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:44
To show Tatsunami and Inoue the difference a real manager makes.
12AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:44
At this point, this Chunichi Dragons team would get praised just for finishing 5th.
14AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:45
Everyone except Hanshin is weak sauce, and honestly even Hanshin's got nowhere left to climb from here — this'll be a breeze.
15AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:45
He's probably bored of easy mode and wants to try managing on hard difficulty for once.
16AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:46
If the front office wants a shield, might as well go big. The team's past the point where swapping managers fixes anything, so Kudo takes zero damage either way.
17AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:46
If it flops, blame the front office. If he gets even 3rd place, he's hailed as one of the greatest managers ever. It's pure upside — that's Kudo for you.
18AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:46
The pitching's solid, and with the DH rule kicking in next year, they might actually be in business if they land one more good hitter.
111AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:27
Re: #18
The pitching's solid? Are you dreaming?
20AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:47
Win or lose, he'll be close to 70 by the time it's over — there's no 'next career' to protect. This is the stage of life where he can do whatever he wants.
21AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:48
He's being handed this dumpster-fire of a team, so is it really that big a minus for him? Unlike the guys before him, he's not someone with zero other accomplishments to fall back on.
33AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:51
Re: #21
Mori Masaaki, who took the BayStars job late in his career, genuinely did get his reputation hurt, I think.
22AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:48
What about 'the farm' (his side project/YouTube channel)? Maybe he'll hand it off to Wada Tsuyoshi, who he did it with.
23AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:48
If he was going to take a job, I wish it had been national team manager instead.
46AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:54
He's strict about not letting the media get extra stuff out of him, same as Fujikawa, so he's probably going to rub the alumni and Nagoya media the wrong way. Even if the team wins, by the back half of the season there'll be a storm of criticism.
48AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:55
Re: #46
Apparently Chunichi fans have said they won't bash Kudo no matter what the standings look like — though they said the exact same thing about Tatsunami and Inoue too.
51AnonymousOct 9, 2026 12:56
Losing was already the baseline expectation, so if he wins, his reputation only goes up. There's literally no losing path here.
100AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:19
Re: #51
They're at a rock bottom with nowhere left to fall. Kind of like when Hoshino took over as Hanshin's manager.
69AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:04
Guys like Mori and Nomura got exposed as mediocre managers, didn't they.
75AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:07
Re: #69
As for Mori, by the numbers he might've actually been a massive net negative.
98AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:17
Re: #69
If you're talking about the Seibu years, the team was actually built by Nemoto and Hirooka.
81AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:09
'Exiled from the strongest team, I use all my wits to rebuild a burden of a team' — this is literally an exile-isekai playthrough!
94AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:16
Re: #81
Fujimoto was blatantly pushed out, but with Kudo even Son (the SoftBank owner) showed up to thank him, so it was more like a resignation.
90AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:14
Before it was decided, Kuwata's name was floated as a candidate too, right? He's an outsider, but fans seem like they'd have welcomed either one.
92AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:15
Re: #90
At the very least, it's clear the front office is seriously alarmed.
91AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:14
Was there any big-name free agent this offseason? Would be nice if they signed one as a kind of congratulatory gift.
104AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:20
Re: #91
Shuto probably won't hit the market, so at best it's guys like Morishita, Tokoda, Sakakura. Sakakura's barely different from Ishikawa, so really the only move is grabbing starting pitchers — you can never have too many of those.
105AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:20
Re: #91
A double signing of Sakakura and Tokoda is plausible.
95AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:16
Re: #92
Yeah, they were saying it's been a full 12-year zodiac cycle already. Feels like they're looking for a savior to turn things around.
97AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:17
Re: #95
Part of me kind of wanted to see Kuwata get a shot too.
107AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:24
If the Giants bring Takahashi back for a second term, they'll probably slide down the standings. 'Jizo' (his old nickname, the human statue) rides again.
108AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:24
Re: #107
More than that, I just want to say: stop overworking Yoshinobu already.
109AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:27
With SoftBank, there's basically nobody who couldn't win a championship there, so it earns you zero credit at all.
112AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:28
Re: #109
Being the strongest in short-series playoff baseball is definitely worth some credit though.
114AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:29
Re: #108
But there's really no one else, is there. Hara's too old, Kuwata's a non-starter, and it'd be cruel to make Matsui do it with this roster. Yoshinobu's the only option left.
115AnonymousOct 9, 2026 13:31
Re: #114
All because some unnamed somebody screwed up, huh.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Kudo Kimiyasu is known as a “master manager,” having built a record that includes four Japan Series championships during his time leading SoftBank. The Chunichi Dragons, by contrast, have remained stuck in a slump through the managerial terms of both Tatsunami Kazuyoshi and Inoue Kazuki, and this hire is drawing attention as an attempt to turn that around. What split the thread was the question of why a manager with Kudo’s résumé would take on this much reputational risk. One camp argued that Kudo himself takes zero damage either way, since a loss can simply be blamed on the front office; the other camp countered that his legacy could still be tarnished, pointing to Mori Masaaki, whose reputation took a hit after managing the BayStars. It’s worth noting that details like “someone nicknamed ‘Tattsu’ bowing on his knees to beg Kudo to take the job,” as well as the various comments about other teams’ alumni, aren’t verified facts — they’re speculation and jokes within the thread. It’s also worth keeping in mind that the idea of “3rd place as the passing grade” is just fan opinion, not a target the club has officially stated — something the article alone can’t confirm.
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