‘Japanese star coach who led Hanshin to the championship’ re-signs with Lotte! But he will leave the uniform behind and head back to Japan... Kanemura’s candid confession: “I was disappointed with this year’s results”

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

His connection with the Lotte Giants will continue, but he will not wear a uniform on the field next year. Kanemura Satoru (50), the pitching coordinator who led the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) to a championship, will remain with Lotte in 2027 as well.

Kanemura announced via his personal social media account on the 10th, “I am reporting that I have signed a contract for next year with KBO Lotte Giants today.” He added, “This year, as the pitching coordinator, I was in charge of developing pitchers in the minor league and the third division, but it did not lead to good results, making it a disappointing season.”

His role will change in the new season. Kanemura stated, “Next year, the manager will also change, and we will be reborn as a new team. I will support the team as a pitching coordinator,” explaining, “This year, I wore a uniform and worked on the field, but next year, I will take off my uniform and support the team based in Japan.” He continued, “I want to watch the team’s victories and the players’ growth together with the passionate Lotte fans. Please continue to support us.”

Kanemura is a pitcher development expert who has been recognized for his skills in Japan. He was drafted by the Nippon-Ham Fighters as the first overall pick in the 1994 NPB rookie draft and led the Pacific League in ERA with a 2.73 mark in 1998. Over his career with Nippon-Ham and Hanshin, he recorded 89 wins, 81 losses, and 2 saves in 271 games, with an ERA of 3.89.

After retiring, he served as a pitching coach for Hanshin from 2016 to 2022, and in 2025, he was called upon by Manager Fujikawa Kiyoshi (46) to take on the role of first-division pitching coach again. His results in his first year back were dazzling. Notably, right-handed closer Ishii Daichi (28) and left-handed reliever Oyokawa Masaki (24) were the core of Hanshin’s bullpen in 2025.

Ishii appeared in 53 games during the regular season, leaving behind a remarkable record of 1 win, 0 losses, 9 saves, and 36 holds with an ERA of 0.17. In particular, he set a new NPB all-time record by going scoreless for 50 consecutive games, and allowed only one earned run in 53 innings, becoming the first player in NPB history to post a sub-0.20 ERA in a season. Left-hander Oyokawa also performed brilliantly, appearing in 66 games with a record of 6 wins, 3 losses, 1 save, and 46 holds, along with an ERA of 0.87. He recorded 66 strikeouts in 62 innings, contributing to the construction of Hanshin’s powerful bullpen.

Therefore, when he signed with Lotte and headed to Korea in December last year, there was a surprised reaction even within Japan. At the time, Lotte entrusted him with the significant responsibility of overseeing pitcher development from the first division down to the third division. Kanemura, a third-generation Japanese person of Korean descent, confessed in an interview with the Japanese media outlet ‘THE ANSWER’ last June that he “came to Korea with the mindset that Lotte would be my last team,” also expressing his desire to find his roots and gain new experiences.

He also presented a clear coaching philosophy at Lotte. During spring camp, he instructed first-division pitchers such as Na Gyun-an, while during the regular season, he mainly offered technical advice to pitchers in the second and third divisions. He consistently watched first-division games to assess the players’ skills. In particular, while highly evaluating the physical abilities of Korean pitchers, he diagnosed that they lacked fine technical details. He emphasized customized pitching instruction considering each pitcher’s unique physical characteristics and expanding real-game experience for young pitchers.

He also proposed a six-man starting rotation, arguing that sufficient rest for starting pitchers and preventing bullpen overload are key to long-term pitcher development. It is not that there were no changes in Lotte’s pitching staff this year. Lotte’s team ERA improved slightly from 4.75 last year to 4.72 this year. This year, they ranked fifth in the league, and their team strikeouts of 1,167 placed them second. In particular, they set a first-in-history record in the KBO League’s 10-team system by having all five starting pitchers complete the qualifying innings.

However, it is difficult to evaluate these achievements solely as the effect of Kanemura’s personal coaching. Regarding the development of second and third-division pitchers, which he was primarily in charge of, he himself gave an assessment that he “was not satisfied.” Lotte also remained in seventh place with a record of 64 wins, 3 draws, and 77 losses, failing to advance to the postseason for the ninth consecutive year. Subsequently, they parted ways with Manager Kim Tae-hyung and appointed Lee Dong-wook, who led the NC Dinos to a unified championship in 2020, as the new manager.

The fact that Lotte will continue its partnership with Kanemura under the new coaching system is significant. However, unlike this year, his role will change next year as he will operate based in Japan to support pitcher development.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original