The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles said Sunday manager Yasushi Tao will be handed his walking papers at the end of the season in his first year at the helm to take responsibility for the Pacific League club's dismal performance.
Tao signed a three-year contract to take the helm of Rakuten, which was the first team to be created in about half a century in a restructuring of Japanese pro baseball last year.
However, the Eagles, suffering from a weak lineup and poor pitching staff, lost 11 straight games in April and another 11 in a row in August en route to becoming the first Pacific League club in 40 years to lose 90 games in a season.