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The story
It was learned on October 18 that Atsushi Fujimoto (49), the Hanshin Tigers’ first-team general coach, has asked the club to let him go at the end of this season, and the club has accepted. Fujimoto joined the coaching staff in the 2014 offseason as second-team fielding and baserunning coach, and has served as first-team position players’ general coach since the 2025 season. The club reportedly tried to talk him out of it, but his resolve was firm and they accepted his resignation; Hanshin, aiming for a third straight title, now begins the search for a replacement. On 5ch, reactions split between shock that a departure would happen on a team in the middle of a title streak, and theories pinning it on manager Kyuji Fujikawa’s handling of the team and his lack of authority, with candidates for the successor also being thrown around.
Shockwave for back-to-back champion Hanshin — General Coach Fujimoto abruptly departs; club tried to retain him but accepted his firm decision; search begins for successor as team eyes third straight title
It was learned on the 18th that Hanshin’s first-team general coach Atsushi Fujimoto (49) will be leaving the club at the end of this season.
He reportedly submitted his resignation to the club, which had been accepted by this date. He joined the coaching staff in the 2014 offseason as second-team infield/baserunning coach, and became first-team position players’ general coach starting in the 2025 season.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Hanshin got cocky after winning the pennant
Hanshin that chokes in winner-take-all games
Just a weak, pathetic Hanshin, honestly
'Got cocky' isn't it
It's 'got worn out,' right
Fujikawa himself might resign too if the team drops to B-class next year once Satoteru (Teruaki Sato) is gone
Having a guy like that around is exactly why they can't win.
Like we just saw, the dark ages have already begun.
The late-season collapse and his in-game calls were both clearly off…
He seems more capable than Fujikawa
I don't think PL Gakuen guys work out (PL Gakuen — a famous baseball powerhouse high school)
I think Imaoka would be good too
He doesn't teach proactively, so he's no good
This'd be his second time getting fired, right
You're overthinking this
It's Hanshin, c'mon, it's Hanshin
More games ended up with the starters breezing through innings because of it
Since they won back-to-back titles, I guess you could call that a success… or maybe not
The offense went that cold down the stretch, after all
Fans are literally praying the whole coaching staff would resign
If you get told to quit even after winning the pennant, nobody will ever want to be a coach
Take DeNA — they're only hot in October, but they finished 3rd, 7.5 games back from first with a winning percentage barely over .500
Fujimoto isn't one of the F1 Seven
Winning the league pennant but never the Japan Series, year after year, puts the club in an awkward spot
And if it's a choice between spending more or tightening the belt, well, it's going to be the latter
Satoteru's leaving
Morishita's leaving too
Oyama and Kinto can't escape age-related decline
So the next 3 years starting next season are going to be a squirt-gun offense
The draft's been a string of failures these past few years too — they're gonna end up like the current Chunichi
He's probably just exhausted by now
Same lack of respect from others
Same trouble putting things into words
Fujikawa's 'Abe-ification' just keeps going. The coaches he keeps close are always the same ones, and he's been wearing that sour face more and more.
Not sure how the player exodus shakes out with the strike situation, but I'd guess he sticks around in the dugout a while longer?
That's probably the sticking point for guys like Matsui and Ichiro
Showing up for the occasional event here and there seems to suit them better
Losing 4 straight in the Climax Series is way too funny.
They've also won 4 straight in the CS before, so they're safe
Background and key points of this topic
Atsushi Fujimoto is a former infielder who played for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, Yakult Swallows, and Hanshin Tigers; he entered coaching in the 2014 offseason as Hanshin’s second-team fielding and baserunning coach, and has served as first-team position players’ general coach since 2025. In NPB, coaching staff changes typically happen during the post-season contract renewal period, and staff turnover isn’t unusual even on a championship-winning team. The club has only said that “his resolve was firm, and though they tried to retain him, they accepted his decision,” without disclosing a specific reason for the departure. What split opinion on the thread was whether to read this as routine personnel movement or as a sign of doubts about manager Kyuji Fujikawa’s handling of the team and his authority over it; framings like “Fujikawa’s one-man rule” or “scorched earth” are purely speculation from an anonymous message board and should be read as separate from facts the club has announced. Hiroyuki Imaoka’s name has also come up as a possible successor, but that too is just speculation within the thread, not an official club announcement.
※This article is an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geisoku Hōdō+) thread “[Baseball] Shockwave for back-to-back champion Hanshin — General Coach Atsushi Fujimoto abruptly departs; club tried to retain him but accepted his firm decision; search begins for successor as team eyes third straight title.”
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