This is a serial essay by Masayuki Kaneno, a journalist known for his book "Was Katsuya Nomura Happy in Tohoku?" and his long-standing coverage of the Rakuten Eagles for the 'Kahoku Shimpo', a newspaper company based in Sendai, the home of the Rakuten Eagles.Looking back on the history and culture that have been spun since its inception in 2005, with its key players, on a memorial day.For those who are about to encounter the Rakuten Eagles for the first time.Firstly, it's impossible not to start with the great leader, Manager Katsuya Nomura, who supported the "Genesis Era" from 2006 to 2009.

“I’d like to die with a victorious toss. When the players tried to put him down, they realized, “Oh, the Manager isn’t moving…”

Manager Katsuya Nomura of the Rakuten Eagles occasionally spoke about “the ideal time of death”. The reporters, who were having a long conversation on the bench before the match, heard it and thought, “Not again,” brushing it off. “But it might be serious…”I was always worried. In reality, I could only walk unsteadily, feeling more aged than my actual age of 74.

The unexpected day of hoisting someone aloft has come. As “Nomura Rakuten,” the last spotlight was on October 24th, 2009, in the grand stage of the Climax Series (CS) Final Stage, which they advanced to for the first time. After the final game, the defeated members of the Rakuten Eagles and their former students who are now with the victorious Nippon Ham agreed to lift their mentor in tribute. The Manager, with a look of complete satisfaction, spun in the air five times. Of course, I came back alive.

Mr. Nomura is a renowned player and a great Manager. In 1965, he shone as the first Triple Crown winner in the South Sea after the war. Even as a Manager, he achieved the Japanese championship three times in the 90s with Yakult. The “Thoughtful Baseball” that was advocated has now permeated the general education level of the baseball world. In the 2023 season, all four managers were former students.

Four years in Tohoku. Gradually reforming a team that was referred to as a “ragtag group” composed only of players past their prime.

The representative work of the “Nomura Regeneration Factory,” a synonym for Manager Nomura, is Takeshi Yamasaki. He is a man who has continued to be thought of as difficult in other teams. “You often get misunderstood, don’t you? Even I was the same.” the Manager Nomura said as he lowered his gaze to meet theirs. Yamasaki, who has opened up his heart, regains his prime brilliance as a powerful hitter in his forties. In 2007, he became the champion in home runs and RBIs. In 2009, he led the team to advance to the CS as a leader.

Even great leaders have had their ups and downs in their previous managerial life. In the winter of 2001, during his time with the Hanshin Tigers, his third team, he faced the biggest crisis of his baseball career. Mrs. Sachiyo was forced to resign as Manager in the aftermath of her scandal. The following year, he silently suffered from a brain tumor.

That’s why Mr. Nomura himself was reborn in Tohoku. In the fall of 2005, the command was entrusted to Tohoku Rakuten after its second year of establishment. At his inaugural press conference, the newly appointed Manager Nomura ironically remarked about being entrusted with the task of laying the foundation for a new team. “I have plunged into the whirlpool of hardship.” However, I must have truly been happy.

That end came after stepping down post-CS. Even though the expiration of his term was predetermined, Manager Nomura wanted to stay in his position. “If we make a swift advance to the Japan Series, I think the wind of continuous pitching will blow.” In the end, it didn’t turn out as I had wished. Just before my resignation, I find myself on the receiving end of the Manager’s grumbling. “We couldn’t get the Hebei New Report on our side.”

Was that phrase a wish for “wanting a tailwind to blow”? I spent over 10 years with something weighing on my mind. And in the fall of 2022, I realized during the interview for my book “Was Katsuya Nomura Happy in Tohoku?” (Tokuma Shoten).The true intentions of Manager Nomura. A secret revealed by the bereaved family clarified everything.

Mr. Nomura was managing despite grappling with a serious illness, a dissection of the aortic aneurysm. Ever since the fall of 1989 when I took up the position of Manager at Yakult. The impact of the fall caused the aorta to rupture, and it was a condition that could have cost him his life.

“I was told by a doctor that doing the victory toss can also be dangerous. As a family, we were relieved when the manager resigned without any issues.”

Upon hearing this explanation from the bereaved family, I was at a loss for words. I realized the tenacity of the great leader who climbed the ranks for 20 years, carrying a bomb in his body, until he resigned from the Rakuten Eagles.

“I’d like to die with a victorious toss.”  is my true feeling. Manager Nomura had come to Tohoku prepared.

Mr. Nomura departed on February 11, 2020, at the age of 84, keeping the fact of his serious illness a secret from others. Was it during that championship series victory celebration, he wanted to convey his feelings to his students? “You guys, play baseball like your life depends on it, just like me.Be grateful that you can play Baseball.”

On October 24, 2009, who would have thought that this final game of Manager Nomura would become the “starting point” for achieving Japan’s number one in 2013…No one could have predicted this at the time.

TEXT : Masayuki Konno
EDIT: Yohsuke Watanabe (IN FOCUS)
SPECIAL THANKS : Chiharu Abe