Fourth in a four-part series
It was not exactly clear what Chiba Lotte Marines president Ryuzo Setoyama's motives were, whether he was so frustrated that he really did intend to quit, or whether his threat to resign in 2008 was just a ploy to get skipper Bobby Valentine to leave and save the team some of Valentine's salary.
And there are indeed conflicting accounts as to whether Setoyama actually submitted his resignation or not to acting owner Akio Shigemitsu. However, Aera magazine reported that Setoyama sought out Shigemitsu on a trip to South Korea and China to deliver an ultimatum,"Choose me or him."