Former teammate Lee Seung-yup to lead SoftBank’s first team starting next year
SoftBank Hawks second team manager Hiroki Kokubo, a former manager of Japan’s national baseball team, will take the helm of the first team next year.
“Kokubo has been promoted internally to head coach of the SoftBank Hawks’ first team from next year,” Japanese sports media outlet SporNichi Annex reported today.
Born in 1971, Kokubo is a native of Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, and made his professional debut with the Fukuoka Dai-E Hawks in 1994 before playing for the Yomiuri Giants for three years from 2004.
In 2006, 카지노사이트가이드 he became a clutch hitter for Yomiuri alongside Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop and was widely recognized by domestic fans.
In 2007, he returned to the SoftBank Hawks, where he played until 2012. In his first-team career, he batted .273 with 2041 hits, 413 home runs and 1304 RBIs, earning a reputation as a power hitter.
After retiring, he served as the head coach of Japan’s national baseball team from 2013 to 2017 and has been the head coach of SoftBank’s first team and second team, and will take the helm of the first team next year.