Nippon-Ham announced on the 31st that Nishioka Tsuyoshi (西岡剛) would become its first-team position players' general coach. His jersey number will be 78, and he will join the team from the autumn camp to coach the position players as a whole.
Nippon-Ham announced on the 31st that former Lotte player Nishioka Tsuyoshi (西岡剛) would become its first-team position players' general coach. His jersey number was confirmed as 78, and he joined the team from the autumn camp, providing practical coaching including infield ground-ball drills. In a statement of his commitment, Nishioka indicated that he intended to give his all for the Fighters' players. This is expected to establish a coaching structure spanning 4 areas, hitting, baserunning, fielding and mental conditioning, in addition to coaching the position players under the new system.
Regarding how he came to take the position, Nishioka said that manager Shinjo Tsuyoshi (新庄剛志) had been making offers to him for some time. Referring also to events during his time with Lotte, he explained that they had exchanged words to the effect of, “The offer for the year after next still hasn’t come.” Manager Shinjo revealed that he had spoken directly with Nishioka after the final game and explained how he brought him into the organisation. Nishioka has been placed in charge of coaching the position players as a whole and regards improving each player's motivation as one of his key responsibilities.