“Ultra aggressive,” “never giving up,” and “making someone happy”: Yano’s secret to player development on the second squad
I sat down with the Hanshin Tigers’ second squad manager Akihiro Yano (49), who in only his first year as manager has led his team to their first Western League victory in 8 years, to look back on the season. With a primary focus on development, Yano listened carefully to his players, and built on three main concepts — being “ultra aggressive,” “never giving up,” and “making someone happy” — to clinch the pennant. (Interviewer: Takashi Takemura, Hanshin reporter)
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When did you first think you might win the pennant?
AY: I think by September. I don’t know if we were focusing on winning, but the thought was there. Winning wasn’t the main goal, though. The main thing was how to get the players to the top squad. At the same time, the team was winning, and of course winning means you’re playing the games well. So there was some part where, little by little, it went from “it would be great if we could win” to “let’s win it all!”
So the priority was player development, but you also came to feel winning is important, too?
AY: Balance is everything. I tried to figure out the best way to broaden each player’s potential, and that eventually turned into the three concepts of “ultra aggressive,” “never give up,” and “make someone happy.” So although it’s not the most important thing, I think winning is right up there. That said, on the second squad, if the focus on winning interferes with the players performing well and developing properly, you have to set it aside and work on development.
Everything has turned out well.
AY: Almost too well (laughs).We’re having a great time, and we feel like we accomplish something every day. Ever since my days as a commentator I really wanted to give player development a try, and now I’ve been given the position where I can say, “why don’t we do this” or “let’s try that,” and do things my way. Your state of mind is very important, and I’ve tried to communicate that to the players, and they’ve really responded. The extent to which they’ve responded has been amazing.
This season I tried to figure out the best way to develop each player, and checked in with them during the process. Ultimately, it’s up to the player himself, but setting them free lets them bring out talent that may have been hiding. Take Yohkawa. He’s stolen bases on the top squad — that guy can run! But if I had told him, “hey, don’t bother running,” he wouldn’t have made any progress. So instead, you have to let him make a mistake now and then. You know, he may get caught stealing, but he can build on that for whenever he gets the chance to steal again. If you don’t accept that a player is going to make mistakes, you end up holding them back. That’s why I wanted to be “ultra aggressive.”
Not to brag, but I think our team was the best in the Western League in terms of running to first. Wins, stolen bases, and things like that are easy to see, of course. You know, after you get a hit, you’re amped up enough to run full speed to your place in the field. But what if you’ve struck out three at-bats in a row? Then you really have to push yourself to sprint out to the outfield. Your body responds when you succeed — that’s obvious. But what about when you’re failing and feeling like garbage? Being able to pick yourself up and run hard anyway — I think that’s what helps you become a consistent player.
What do you prioritize the most as manager?
AY: Listening to the players. Sometimes a player does something and I can’t for the life of me figure out what he was thinking. But really, you won’t know unless you ask. For all I know he was thinking about the play really hard, and I wouldn’t know what was going on in his head unless I asked him. So I tried to focus on getting the players to talk, and listen to them, as much as possible.
And when you ask the players, they end up focusing more as well.
AY: I actually wanted them to practice speaking, too. Not everyone is going to make it to the top squad. Some of these guys will end up leaving baseball, and you need to be able to speak in public, to communicate your own thoughts well. I’m not talking about the hero interviews after games at Naruohama, but I was always thinking about how to give the players a chance to speak on their own.
How is managing different from your mindset when you were a catcher?
AY: It’s the same.The more experienced I became [as a catcher], the more I noticed when I was forcing pitches from a pitcher, when he wasn’t buying into the game I was calling. If I got mad and said, “why the heck are you throwing it there,” without giving him a chance to explain, I didn’t learn a thing. But if I actually asked, it was like, “ah, so that’s what he was thinking about.” So yeah, my past experience as a catcher helped teach me how important it is to listen to the players.
Sometimes my “message” won’t get through the first time, but it will probably stick the fifth or tenth time, right? Because the same message comes across totally different depending on who you’re talking to. The players follow the manager’s and the coaches’ lead when they play. I was the same when I was a player, but actually that’s wrong. It’s the other team you’ve got to play against! So instead of that I tried to get my message across each day, so the players already know how they can operate with me as manager.
You’re also in the position of having to train the coaches.
AY: When I was a player I felt like being a coach must be really tough. I had this image that a coach is always been called on to be “smart,” or to handle difficult situations. On January 31st I talked to not just the coaches, but to the team as a whole about how I wanted to move forward as manager. I said, I’m fine with an inning being over with three pitches, and a game being done with 27. So I think the coaches quickly got a sense of what kind of baseball I wanted to play, and what kind of mindset I have.
The one thing I said to the coaches was “we can’t be telling the players a bunch of different things.” We can’t have the players not knowing which direction they’re supposed to be facing. We focused on base running a lot, too. I asked — only once — if we could add even just a little base running on practice days, and the coaches have added it to the menu consistently ever since. They’ve handled a lot of things I forgot as well, and having their overall support really made things a lot easier.
Translated by Jacob Dunlap