The Chunichi Dragons formally announced their policy of appointing Kudo Kimiyasu (工藤 公康) as their new manager for next season. In a press scrum at the club's office in Nagoya, the president expressed his intention to bring in outside experience and expertise to build a strong team, and also discussed future roster planning and schedule coordination.
It was decided that former SoftBank manager Kudo Kimiyasu (工藤 公康) (63) would become the new manager for next season. In a press scrum, club president Kato Hiroyuki (加藤 宏幸) explained that the club had judged a person with outside experience and expertise to be best suited to addressing its current challenges, and disclosed that it had singled out Kudo.
Kudo won 3 league titles and 5 Japan Series championships during his time at SoftBank. The club intends to entrust him with rebuilding its struggling team and indicated that, in addition to his record as a player, it would emphasize coaching incorporating scientific methods.
The formal appointment date has not yet been set, and schedules involving Kudo and other parties are expected to continue being coordinated. The date of the draft may be affected, but the club said it would not proceed unilaterally and would make decisions after consulting closely with Kudo.
From a long-term perspective, the club identified building a foundation with a 100-year outlook as its top priority. It plans to establish a structure that develops individual players' abilities and translates them into victories. The number of years for which Kudo will be entrusted with the role has not been decided, but the club stated that it would promote training based on scientific evidence without placing excessive emphasis on results alone.