“Yossan” has some advice to help the team to its first Nippon Series Championship in 35 years. Yoshio Yoshida, who has been named overseer or the Koshien Museum, was in attendance at the museum’s business meeting at a hotel in Osaka on the 21st. “They have a chance this year,” he said, indicating that he has high hopes that Akihiro Yano‘s squad will win the pennant. The man who was at the helm for the club’s lone Nippon Series Championship in 1985 listed three keys to Hanshin’s success in 2020: Fujinami Comeback, Fixed Batting Order, One Main Shortstop.
“They’ve got a good shot, don’t you think? When you look at them from different angles, you can see it. The young players are contributing, all the players came together nicely at the end of last year, and I have a feeling Yano is going to get the most out of these guys in his second season…”
In 1985, Yoshida cemented his place in team history by leading the team to its first pennant in 21 seasons and its lone Nippon Series Championship. He says three things need to happen in order for this year’s squad to win it all.
1. Fujinami’s Comeback
“The team has a lot of really good young pitchers like Haruto Takahashi and Hiroto Saiki,” Yoshida said, putting his highest hopes in the young arms. He emphasized, though, that Shintaro Fujinami‘s return to greatness is a must in order for the team to win. “He alone holds the key to the team’s pitching rotation,” also noting that Fujinami went winless in 2019 for the first time in his professional career.
2. Keep the Order the Same
When the team won it all in 1985, outside of platooning Kitamura, Yoshitake and Hirota in the #2 slot, the batting order 1-6 basically stayed the same all year. “With the order more-or-less set it stone and those first six guys getting us runs, managing that team was pretty easy,” Yoshida reminisced. “Yusuke Ohyama… I want to see him find his spot in the hitting order,” expecting him to have an explosive season. He continued by talking about a new acquisition and his success being pivotal. “That kid they got from Korea (Jerry Sands), it will be interesting to see if he can rack up a lot of RBIs on this team. I think he should bat 3rd, and he will be a key to the team’s offense.”
3. Decide on a Main Shortstop
What with Yoshida’s old stomping grounds being at short, obviously he cares about the position. “I can’t say who I think will be the shortstop this year, but whether or not they can trust one guy with the job is going to be an important factor.” He is hoping that the team can find a more permanent replacement for the departed Takashi Toritani, whether that be Seiya Kinami, Fumiya Hojoh, or Kai Ueda.
When asked about the team’s current 15-year championship drought, he said, “They have to win it all. It’s been 35 years since we won it. That’s too long of a gap.” Yossan, much like the fans, thirst for that jubilant moment to happen at year’s end.