Masumi Kuwata’s ‘I Wouldn’t Mind Managing the Giants’ Remark Sparks Debate Over His Exit as Farm Team Manager

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The story

A sports-tabloid article claiming that Masumi Kuwata, who just stepped down as manager of the Yomiuri Giants’ farm team, revealed he’d been told by team executives that he “could take over as (first-team) manager” became a hot topic on 5ch. The article framed the story with a romance analogy, but it wasn’t clear which part was actually the “bombshell remark,” leaving commenters confused. Discussion centered on whether Kuwata is actually cut out to manage the Giants’ top team, with opinions split between those praising his coaching ability and skeptics who think he wouldn’t fit the current regime.

Masumi Kuwata’s “Bombshell Remark” After Saying He “Could” Manage the Giants — Behind His Exit as Farm Team Manager: “Maybe He’ll Never Get the Top Job Now”

“If you won’t marry me, it’s over!”

The scene of a woman laying down the law like that to a man she’s stuck in a toxic on-and-off relationship with is something you see in novels and movies. Is this supposed to be that kind of thing?

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

What people said

2AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:34
He's not hated, but he's not liked either

by people in the baseball world.
6AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:37
Once Abe (Shinnosuke, the current Giants manager) is gone, maybe let this guy have a shot.
7AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:37
He should go manage Rakuten
a lot of the players there are pretty mellow, seems like it'd suit his style.
8AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:38
If you strip out anything Abe-related, he'd probably be well liked
his advice to Sasaki Roki was amazing.
10AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:39
Reminds me of back when some Seibu owner told his pennant-winning manager something like 'I'll let you stay on if you want to' — and got ripped apart for it.
20AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:45
Re: #10
But from Tsutsumi's (the Seibu Lions owner's) point of view, that was basically the ultimate 'please stay on' offer.
Sounds like a '?' to regular people, but think of it as a lord granting permission to a vassal, and it's completely normal phrasing for him.
28AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:52
Re: #10
Tsutsumi's 'do it if you want to' line showed up more than once even in the manga Kattobase! Kiyohara-kun.
Manager Mori was shocked every single time he heard it.
11AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:39
Nobody asked for him.
No need to show up.
16AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:42
Re: #11
I'd personally like to see it.
12AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:40
Players would just walk all over Kuwata and stop listening.
I think the Giants only function with a power-harassment type like Abe running things.
21AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:45
Re: #12
A businesslike, cold-blooded type like Hara is actually the best fit.
13AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:40
The whole love-affair analogy thing…
this article's style feels dated.
Its sense of humor is stuck somewhere between late Showa and early Heisei.
15AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:42
Kuwata — who had tell-all books written about him by Anita (Alvarado, Kiyohara's famous ex) and Nakamaki (a scandal writer) — is now doing some tell-all of his own.
18AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:44
Apparently Chappy's (slang for ChatGPT) managing next season.
19AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:44
They're fully in poaching mode now
just buying up other teams' star players with stacks of cash.
The manager's just a figurehead.
23AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:48
The purists get loud about how anyone who's worn a non-Giants uniform is a no-go.
Feels like it'll settle on fudging things with Saito Masaki for one round before bringing Takahashi Yoshinobu back for another go.
36AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:55
Re: #23
Not even Saito Masaki.
It's either Yoshinobu or Hara coming back.
24AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:48
Typical stuff, but I guess it just comes down to factional infighting then.
25AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:50
Can't be bothered reading it, someone fill me in on what the bombshell remark actually was.
29AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:52
Re: #25
It's written in a way where even people who can read Japanese can't tell which part is supposed to be the bombshell.
27AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:51
This guy wanting to manage the Giants is honestly just a dig at Kiyohara anyway…
30AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:53
Japanese baseball is way too obsessed with winning — I wonder if any team out there would actually hire a manager who openly says he won't prioritize winning.
31AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:54
Abe's out of the question, but this guy seems like he'd be a real handful too.
32AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:54
Nothing but sophistry, and he can't develop players worth a damn either.
Better to skip it.
33AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:54
To begin with, the Giants must have felt like sitting on a bed of nails for Kuwata from the moment he joined.
He might love the team, but he probably resents it even more.
35AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:55
Re: #33
Come on, that's a seed he planted himself.
41AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:58
Re: #33
That gloomy image of Kuwata was probably built up by the media.
Kiyohara's not really the tough-guy 'bancho' type in real life either.
Watch Kuwata doing food reviews on the Oisix channel — he's just a chatty Osaka uncle.
43AnonymousSep 14, 2026 22:59
Re: #20
He's just the son of 'Pistol' Yasujiro (Tsutsumi's father, the ruthless real-estate mogul), acting all high and mighty.
71AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:24
Re: #43
That's exactly why he turns out this way — he's the son of new money.
If he were truly old-money aristocracy, he wouldn't talk like that.
46AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:02
There's zero basis for 'he did great with the farm team, so he'll win with the first team too.'
64AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:19
Re: #46
Maybe so, but he'll still get more chances than some guy with no results to show, lol.
Have you never had a job before? lol
51AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:04
The farm team's actually producing better talent now than it did back in Kuwata's day.
59AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:15
Re: #51
Exactly. Making Ishii Takuro the farm team manager was absolutely the right call.
56AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:07
What about him going to another team, with Furuta as manager and Kuwata as bench coach?
62AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:17
Re: #56
Furuta aside,
Kuwata's definitely better suited to that kind of supporting role.
77AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:32
For the sake of future Matsuis and Suganos, it's about time somebody (not necessarily Kuwata) set a precedent that MLB experience shouldn't be held against a guy.
Uehara's making good money on YouTube so he's not too keen, but Naonari (Takahashi) would gladly do it
— though who knows if he'd actually be good at it.
79AnonymousSep 14, 2026 23:35
Re: #77
Matsui surrendered to Ichiro's camp, after all.
MLB's one thing, but actually wearing a non-Giants uniform domestically carries real weight.

Background and Key Points

Masumi Kuwata, a former Giants pitcher, had served as the team’s farm (second-team) manager since 2023, and this time his departure from that role was reported. The article frames the circumstances of his exit around a claim that team executives told Kuwata “you could take over (as first-team manager)” — billing this as a “bombshell remark” — but the text alone doesn’t make clear exactly which statement is meant, leaving commenters confused, with one writing, “Even people who can read Japanese can’t tell which part is supposed to be the bombshell.” The gap between the sensational headline and the actual substance is a familiar pattern for this kind of sports-tabloid exclusive. There’s also a history of front-office phrases like “stay on if you want to” being read in very different ways — as a genuine offer to continue, or as a polite dismissal (as in the old anecdote about Seibu’s Yoshiaki Tsutsumi) — and this time, too, opinions split further once the discussion turned to whether Kuwata is actually cut out to be a manager.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Baseball] Masumi Kuwata’s ‘Bombshell Remark’ After Saying He ‘Could’ Manage the Giants — Behind His Exit as Farm Team Manager: ‘Maybe He’ll Never Get the Top Job Now’.”

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