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Expectations Always High for Giants and Tigers

Hanshin Manager Kanemoto Press Conference

Hanshin Tigers manager Tomoaki Kanemoto (50) stood before the press corps at the club office in Nishinomiya on October 11, where he announced he was resigning effective at season’s end.

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When did you notify the team of your resignation?

Tomoaki Kanemoto: After yesterday’s game.

Did you notify the owner or the president?

TK: The president.

What was your reason?

TK: Poor performance.

When did you make your decision?

TK: I think when we found we’d be ending in last place.

What was his reaction?

TK: He said we should give it a shot for a little longer, but I had already made my decision.

You weren’t able to get the results you wanted to get in terms of player development.

TK: Well, there are a lot of things I feel left undone, but results are everything in baseball.

Do you feel like you couldn’t achieve your goal?

TK: Of course, that’s there too.

Former manager Hoshino said, “give it two more years.”

TK: Yeah, but last place… it was that, more than anything.

Did you talk about it with your family or anyone else?

TK: No, I didn’t. I didn’t do that. I decide everything on my own, so.

Part of you was planning for the long term, right?

TK: Taking five years to do a job that normally takes ten — that’s always been my goal from the start. Of course, players got injured and didn’t develop as expected and whatnot. That’s also our responsibility, when everyone takes the field. The players, though, they really showed they were giving it their all. That sense of “I want to get better” and “I want to be in the lineup every day,” that was always at the fore. But starting a player’s development over again… it’s hard to put into words, but the players who “get it” just cruise along, and some others can take years.

Were you thinking about next season before the last place finish was set in stone?

TK: Hmm… next year… Honestly at that point I was more worried about finishing in last place.

Was your speech yesterday after the last game at Koshien related at all?

TK: No, no, that thing yesterday, not at all. There was no deeper meaning about quitting or not quitting. It was mainly to apologize, at least in my mind.

Did you notice the noise at the park?

TK: That’s just your fate when you’re the manager of the Tigers. You accept that as soon as you sign on for the job. Doing your job even with that noise, that’s what being the Tigers manager is all about. So that didn’t really bother me.

Giants manager Yoshinobu Takahashi also resigned. Did that have any effect on you?

TK: And the Giants are in third, too. The starting line was a bit different for manager Takahashi and myself. But ultimately the expectations are always high for the Giants and Hanshin. I think that part is the same. I mean, with the Giants, you have to quit even when you come in third, right? And here I am in last place.

Have you told the players and coaches?

TK: Not yet. I told the coaches I hired right away, but none of the players yet.

Have you made a report to the owner?

TK: I haven’t been able to yet.

Were you thinking about telling them of your intent to resign before the final game at Koshien?

TK: No, I wasn’t. I was just focused on winning that last game at Koshien. I wasn’t able to think that far in advance.

How do you feel about the last three years?

TK: The main thing was how exhausting it was. Still, I was really happy when the younger players did well. I think I might have been more excited than them, you know, “come on, please just keep getting better!” Those are really good memories for me. Fujinami finally threw a complete game this year (September 29 vs. Chunichi), and I think I was more excited than him. Like, I felt like he finally “got” it. So yeah, there were definitely fun moments too.

What do you want to say to the players staying on?

TK: I really want the players I worked with to reach their full potential. It’s a competition, of course, so not everyone is going to be an everyday player, but if someone can take what we’ve taught them to heart, and use that to reach their full potential. I mean, it would be really sad, right? If none of the players we worked with ended up in the lineup every day.

A lot of other managers complain about “younger players,” but was that a point of difficulty for you, too?

TK: There’s always a lot of talk about “kids these days” or “this generation,” but what I’ve always said is, people said the same thing about us when we were young. So honestly, I never took the approach of “you have to handle them this way or that way” with our players. They’re all really tough, and take what you say to heart. They work hard. At least that’s how I feel. When we were 20 years old people called us “the new breed,” after all. When we were 20, people kept talking about “kids these days, kids these days.” But I never actually felt anything like that.

What are your plans after this?

TK: I haven’t decided on anything. I just want to take it easy and relax.

Translated by Jacob Dunlap

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