Merry Christmas to all readers of the Baseball Bullet-In, and the fans in Yokohama should have a relaxing holiday season now that their team has been sold, it has a new manager, new owner and a new look after limping through a few — shall we say — less-than-spectacular seasons.
Santa Claus has brought a special gift in Kiyoshi Nakahata, former Yomiuri Giants player and NTV commentator who will take over as the field boss. If Nakahata runs the club with even half the enthusiasm he had during his days as a Giants infielder, we should be seeing vast improvement in the team right away.
Nakahata was a tenacious player who made his first mark in November of 1978 when called up from the Giants farm team to play against the visiting Cincinnati Reds on their post-season Japan barnstorming tour. Then 24, he broke in with a home run off "Big Red Machine" pitcher Mario Soto at Korakuen Stadium.