There was plenty of style in Tsuyoshi Shinjo’s first season as Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager.
Shinjo the manager was as flashy as Shinjo the player. He wore a burgundy three-piece suit, a bright white shirt with an impossibly large collar and sunglasses to his introductory news conference. He wanted to be called Big Boss and used that as his registered name. He used a smoke machine and wore a uniform with "Big Boss" in flashing lights across the chest for his entrance on opening day on the road in Fukuoka and maneuvered a hovercraft high above the field during the home opener in Sapporo.
He expertly played the showman all season, and his luminescent star power was distracting enough to obscure a 59-81-3 record and last-place finish in the Pacific League in 2022.