Newly appointed Yokohama BayStars manager Daisuke Yamashita pledged on Thursday to put all his effort into building a strong team in the Central League.
Daisuke Yamashita speaks at a news conference inYokohama after agreeing to become manager of the BayStars."I think it is my job to create the type of environment where we can draw on the power of each individual on the team. Baseball has to be fun for the fans and I'll try to build a team that can bring energy back to Yokohama Stadium," Yamashita said.
Yamashita, a 50-year-old baseball commentator, is set to sign a two-year contract with the club.
"I'd like him to develop the kind of baseball that fans can be impressed about," said club owner Takashi Ohori.
Yamashita will work as a commentator for the upcoming Japan Series between the Seibu Lions and the Yomiuri Giants getting under way on Oct. 26 at the Tokyo Dome before kicking off his duties as the new manager at the team's fall training camp in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture in early November.
He takes over from Masaaki Mori, who quit late last month after failing to lift the BayStars out of last place the entire season.
Four-time All-Star Yamashita played between 1974 and 1987 for the Taiyo Whales, Yokohama's predecessor, and won the Golden Glove award at shortstop eight times.
He served as a BayStars coach for eight years from 1993 through 2001 and was head coach of the Japanese national team, which finished third in the Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea, earlier this month.