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List of Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles managers

Man wearing a baseball uniform walking onto the field.
Hajime Miki is the current manager of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles are a professional baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. The Eagles are members of the Pacific League (PL) in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager, or more formally, the field manager. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[1][2] Since their inaugural season in 2005, the Eagles have employed ten managers. Under the franchise's first manager, Yasushi Tao, the team finished last in the PL and was the first PL team in 40 years to lose over 90 games in a single season. Despite being signed to a three-year contract, Tao was dismissed after the Eagles' inaugural season.[3] He was replaced by Hall of Famer Katsuya Nomura for the next season. During his four-year managerial tenure, Nomura accumulated 256 wins and a .459 winning percentage. Despite leading the team to its first Climax Series appearance in 2009, Eagles' management decided not to renew Nomura's contract.[4] Instead, he was retained as an honorary manager through the 2012 season.[5]

Marty Brown, Nomura's successor, signed a two-year managerial contract, however he was fired after only one last-place season with the Eagles.[6] Instead, long-time manager Senichi Hoshino was hired and signed to a one-year, ¥150 million contract for the 2011 season.[7] After a fifth-place PL finish and the positive development of the team's younger players, team owner Hiroshi Mikitani requested that Hoshino stay on as manager for the next few seasons.[8] In the 2013 season, the Eagles' ninth, he went on to lead the team to its first PL pennant, first successful Climax Series run, and first Japan Series title.[9] The following season, however, Hoshino missed two months with the team because of back problems and the Eagles finished in last place. At season's end, he stepped down as manager despite ownership wanting him to return for a fifth season. Hoshino and Nomura's four-year managerial tenures remain the team's longest.[10] Hoshino was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017;[11] his copper plaque depicts him wearing an Eagles cap.[12]

Hiromoto Okubo, Rakuten's farm team manager, was named Hoshino's successor following his departure. He only lasted one season, however, as he resigned after the team again finished in last place.[13] The team turned to veteran manager Masataka Nashida to fill the managerial vacancy for the 2016 season. Nashida was the last person to manage the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes before they were dissolved and merged after the 2004 season and appeared to be a natural choice to manage the Eagles, the team created to fill the void left by that merger.[14] He was able to lead the team to its third playoff berth in 2017, however, the next season he resigned mid-season in July when the club dropped to 20 games below a .500 winning percentage.[15]

Coach Yosuke Hiraishi acted as team's interim manager for the remainder of the 2018 season and was promoted to full-time manager for the 2019 season. Hiraishi was the first former Eagles player to manage the team.[16] Despite leading the team to a Climax Series berth in 2019, Hiraishi's contract was not renewed. Eagles' general manager Kazuhisa Ishii was looking for someone capable of rebuilding the team. Hajime Miki, Rakuten's farm team manager, was hired to replace Hiraishi for the 2020 season. The previous season, Miki led the franchise's minor-league affiliate to the Eastern League championship title for the first time in its 15-year history.[17] After only one fourth-place season, however, Ishii sent Miki back to manage the farm team and Rakuten instead appointed Ishii himself to manage the Eagles starting with the 2021 season.[18]

Table key

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# A running total of the number of Eagles managers. Any manager who has two or more separate terms is only counted once.
GM Number of regular season games managed; may not equal sum of wins and losses due to tie games
W Number of regular season wins in games managed
L Number of regular season losses in games managed
T Number of regular season ties in games managed
Win% Winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed that did not result in a tie
PA Postseason appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the postseason
PW Postseason wins: number of wins this manager has accrued in the postseasonA
PL Postseason losses: number of losses this manager has accrued in the postseasonB
PT Postseason ties: number of ties this manager has accrued in the postseason
LC League Championships: number of League Championships, or pennants, achieved by the managerC
JS Japan Series: number of Japan Series won by the manager
† Elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
^A This does not include the one-win advantage that league champions are automatically awarded in the second stage of the Climax Series.
^B This does not include the one-loss disadvantage first stage winners are automatically given in the second stage of the Climax Series.
^C The Pacific League pennant was awarded to the winner of a playoff series for the seasons of 1973 to 1982 and 2004 to 2006. After the Climax Series was created in 2007, the team with the best record during the regular season was named the league champion, not the winner of the Climax Series.[19]

Managers

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Statistics current through the 2023 season

# Image Manager Seasons GM W L T Win% PA PW PL PT LC JS Awards Ref
1 Yasushi Tao 2005 136 38 97 1 .281 — — — — — — [20]
2 Katsuya Nomura† 2006–2009 568 256 302 10 .459 1 3 3 0 0 — [21]
3 Marty Brown 2010 144 62 79 3 .440 — — — — — — [22]
4 Senichi Hoshino† 2011–2014 576 279 277 20 .502 1 8 4 0 1 1 Best Manager Award (2013)
Matsutaro Shoriki Award (2013)		 [23][24]
[25]
5 Hiromoto Okubo 2015 143 57 83 3 .407 — — — — — — [26]
6 Masataka Nashida 2016–2018 349 160 182 7 .468 1 4 4 0 0 — [27][15]
7 Yosuke Hiraishi 2018–2019 223 108 109 6 .498 1 1 2 0 0 — [28][15]
8 Hajime Miki 2020 120 55 57 8 .491 — — — — — — [29]
9 Kazuhisa Ishii 2021–2023 429 205 204 20 .501 1 0 1 1 0 — [30]
10 Toshiaki Imae 2024 143 67 72 4 .482 — — — — — —
— Hajime Miki 2025–present 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — — — [31]

References

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General
Specific
  1. ^ "Manager: Definition | Dictionary.com". Dictionary.Reference.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 2006. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
  2. ^ Dickson, P. (2009). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Third ed.). W.W. Norton & Co. p. 530. ISBN 978-0-393-06681-4.
  3. ^ "Golden Eagles throw in the Tao". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. September 27, 2005. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  4. ^ "Eagles want to hire Brown: sources". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. October 24, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "球団名誉監督に関して" [Regarding the honorary manager of the baseball team]. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "Eagles eye Hoshino: sources". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. October 6, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "Hoshino makes return with Eagles". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. October 28, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Eagles want Hoshino for third year". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. August 8, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  9. ^ Coskrey, Jason (November 3, 2013). "Eagles blank Giants in Game 7, capture first Japan Series title". The Japan Times. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  10. ^ "Eagles manager Hoshino to step down at season's end". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. September 14, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  11. ^ "Ito, Hoshino, Hiramatsu inducted into Hall of Fame". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. January 16, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "殿堂レリーフ「捕手かぶり」の矜持　野村克也さん一周忌" [The first anniversary of Katsuya Nomura's death, proud of "catcher cap" on Hall of Fame relief]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). February 11, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "Eagles skipper Okubo won't return for 2016 season". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. September 22, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  14. ^ "New Eagles manager Nashida eager to lead PL club". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. October 8, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c "Eagles manager Masataka Nashida steps down". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. June 16, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  16. ^ "Eagles promote interim manager Yosuke Hiraishi to manager". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. October 5, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  17. ^ "Eagles promote farm team skipper Hajime Miki to manager". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. October 11, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "Eagles appoint former big-leaguer Kazuhisa Ishii as manager". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. November 13, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "CL to follow PL playoff model". The Japan Times. September 5, 2006. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  20. ^ "Yasushi Tao Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  21. ^ "Katsuya Nomura Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Marty Brown Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  23. ^ "Senichi Hoshino Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  24. ^ "2013年度 表彰選手（パシフィック・リーグ）" [2013 Awarded Players (Pacific League)] (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  25. ^ "歴代正力松太郎賞" [Successive Matsutaro Shoriki Awards]. Sankei Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  26. ^ "Hiromoto Okubo Japanese & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  27. ^ "Masataka Nashida Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  28. ^ "Yosuke Hiraishi Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  29. ^ "Hajime Miki Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "Kazuhisa Ishii Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  31. ^ "Hajime Miki Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2021.