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The story
On October 22, 2026, to coincide with the NPB draft meeting broadcast on the TBS network, a thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyō” (anything-goes live-commentary) board filled up with posts speculating on each team’s picks and describing the scene at the venue. The post that drew the most attention questioned why SoftBank Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo was nowhere to be seen, with comments like “Watching the manager miss the lottery draw is the best part — don’t skip out on that!” Other popular posts included a roundup of first-round pick predictions from the sports dailies, and one pointing out that Aoyama Gakuin University has produced a first-round draft pick for four straight years.
What people said
If the manager's not showing up, at least send out Oh or someone.
Kokubo's stuck to his policy of staying completely hands-off on roster building.
Maybe he headed to Aoyama Gakuin?
He's busy prepping for the Japan Series
Jojima's there, so there's no need for him to go.
He's in Yokohama, so he can't make it.
True that
This is part of the show too — they should actually make the manager do it.
Tigers Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe
Giants Komoda Komoda Watanabe Komoda Komoda Watanabe
DeNA Kawajiri Yonezawa Komoda Fujisawa Komoda Suzuki
Carp Yamazato Watanabe Yamazato Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe
Swallows Komoda Fujisawa Komoda Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki
Dragons Suzuki Suzuki Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe
Hawks Oda Komoda Suzuki Komoda Suzuki Suzuki
Lions Suzuki Suzuki Komoda Suzuki Miyahara Miyahara
Fighters Komoda Suzuki Komoda Komoda Komoda Komoda
Buffaloes Kawajiri Kawajiri Kawajiri Suzuki Yonezawa Yonezawa
Marines Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki Yonezawa Suzuki Suzuki
Eagles Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe Watanabe
Hiroshima's short on talent at literally every position, even counting free agency — the feeling that Watanabe alone won't fix that is off the charts.
Does he not get that the draft is basically a fan-service event these days?
His main skill is hitting, isn't it?
Who was streaming it last year again?
Just so you know, I'm a cat person (an unrelated 5ch joke aside, not a team reference) — probably a long shot, but I want Oda.
We're losing two starters, so I'm not asking for much — just two immediate-impact starters who can realistically win double digits.
College guy, no question about it.
They used to just stream it on YouTube, no problem.
Do it again this year too 😠
when they've already got Ishii.
This, exactly
They don't even have room for Watanabe.
It's gonna end up like Kiyomiya all over again.
Is Kiyomiya actually considered a success?
Oi, what are you laughing at? (said in a Kansai jab)
Love the expressions on the two people right behind him
They look like they're about to say 'this is seriously hilarious.'
2023: Tsunehiro (Hiroshima), Shimomura (Hanshin)
2024: Nishikawa (Lotte), Sasaki (Hiroshima)
2025: Nakanishi (Chunichi), Oda (DeNA)
2026: Watanabe (Rakuten), Suzuki (SoftBank)
Nishikawa's a huge hit
Wonder how the others panned out.
Misho's about the only other one so far (nickname for one of the other picks).
Background and Key Points
In Japan’s professional baseball draft, when multiple teams submit a first-round bid on the same player, a lottery decides which team gets negotiating rights — and the facial expressions of the team reps drawing lots become a talking point every year. The thread’s focus on Manager Kokubo’s absence comes from the fact that at many clubs it’s the manager himself who draws the lottery slip, which makes the contrast stand out; however, scouting and roster-building decisions are handled by the front office, and it’s not unusual for the on-field manager to have no involvement in the draft at all. As for Aoyama Gakuin University, posts in the thread point out that it has produced two first-round draft picks every year from 2023 through 2026 — four years running — cementing its reputation as a university that scouts watch closely. Several posts also grumbled about the draft’s paid livestream on U-NEXT, but it’s easy to overlook that the broadcast was free on YouTube in past years, meaning the streaming setup changes from year to year.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyō) thread “[TBS] Professional Baseball Draft Meeting.”
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