# 2026年10月21日 きたろう（タレント、俳優） - Show: 大竹紳士交遊録 - 大竹まことゴールデンラジオ！ - Published: 2026-10-21 - Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/254180252_9bf281b20211.html - Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NCB8796531472.mp3 - Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary. Otake Makoto (大竹まこと) and Kitaro (きたろう) used new Chunichi manager Kudo's description of himself as a "middle manager" as a springboard for a wide-ranging discussion of great baseball managers — from the Dodger Way that powered the Giants' V9 dynasty to Nomura's data-driven ID baseball and today's analytics era. The second half pivoted to film directors, with Kitaro confessing that watching the behind-the-scenes footage for Kurosawa Akira's "Ran" had left him unable to enjoy the film itself. ## What this episode answers ### How did Otake evaluate new manager Kudo's comment that his job was essentially "middle management" during his appointment interview? Otake said he found the comment deflating — while he understood Kudo meant coordinating between the front office and the players, what he wanted to see was a manager willing to take full responsibility and push back against the front office when needed. He did, however, acknowledge Kudo's record of winning multiple championships at SoftBank. ### What were the key tactics of the "Dodger Way" that underpinned Manager Kawakami's Giants V9 dynasty? Kawakami traveled to Florida to study Dodgers tactics and introduced three concepts then unknown in Japan: first baseman charging on bunt plays while the second baseman covers first, a systematic infield-outfield backup system on errors, and the professionalization of relief pitching — embodied by specialist reliever Miyata, nicknamed "the 8:30 man." ### What does the "ID" in Manager Nomura Katsuya's "ID baseball" stand for, and what kind of approach does it describe? ID stands for "Important Data." It is a rigorously data-driven style of baseball that catalogues batters' weaknesses and pitchers' tendencies, applying those findings all the way down to defensive shift decisions. ### How did Kitaro feel after watching the making-of footage for Kurosawa Akira's "Ran"? He felt the actors seemed constrained and unable to perform freely, and found he could no longer enjoy the film. Discovering the mechanics of the horse-fall scene — where the warrior falls from a board running alongside the horse rather than from the horse itself — compounded the effect, leading both him and Otake to conclude that making-of footage is best left unwatched. ### How did the two analyze the reason Hanshin lost to Yokohama in the Climax Series? They pinpointed injuries to Sato and Morishita that kept both players out for roughly two games, arguing that losing one or two key players has a direct and decisive impact on a team's strength; they also noted that Hanshin had been on a losing streak in the latter half of the season. ## Article ## New Manager Kudo and Sato's Move to the Majors The episode opened with news that the Chunichi Dragons would be welcoming Kudo (工藤) as their new manager. Otake recalled Kudo's appointment interview, in which the incoming manager described his job as "chukan kanrishoku" — middle management. Otake was candid: "It felt a little pathetic, honestly." He understood that Kudo likely meant he would act as a bridge between the front office and the players, but what he wanted to see was a manager willing to stand up, declare he would take full responsibility, and fight back against the front office if it came to that. He was quick to acknowledge Kudo's record — multiple championships at SoftBank — and Kitaro added that his own manager had welcomed the appointment. Elsewhere in professional baseball news, word has apparently already emerged that Sato (佐藤) has secured a move to Major League Baseball. With Okamoto (岡本) also heading stateside last year, Kitaro lamented that Japan's cleanup hitters keep leaving for America. ## Manager Kawakami and the Dodger Way — The Revolutionary Tactics Behind the V9 To make his case that "a manager's power is enormous," Otake turned to Kawakami Tetsuharu (川上哲治), who led the Yomiuri Giants to nine consecutive Japan Series titles — the V9. Kawakami traveled to Florida to immerse himself in Dodgers tactics and returned determined to transform his team from top to bottom. Otake described the Dodger Way as a revelation, pointing to three specific innovations. First, on bunt plays, the first baseman charges forward to field the ball while the second baseman covers first base — in Japan at the time, only the pitcher and the third baseman moved to field the bunt. Second, when errors occurred, infielders and outfielders immediately shifted into backup positions, a concept that simply did not exist in Japanese baseball. Third, relief pitching was professionalized. Dedicated relievers were a foreign idea in Japan then; the episode name-checked pitcher Miyata (宮田), nicknamed "the 8:30 man," as the archetype of the specialist reliever. "All of this is taken for granted now," Otake said, "but it shows just how far behind Japanese baseball was at the time." ## From Nomura's ID Baseball to Today's Data Game The conversation shifted to Manager Nomura Katsuya (野村克也) and his celebrated "ID baseball." The ID stands for "Important Data" — a systematic, data-driven approach that catalogued batters' weaknesses and pitchers' tendencies, then translated those findings into decisions as granular as defensive positioning. The two agreed that every great manager operates from a clear tactical philosophy; as Otake put it, "there is no manager out there just drifting along — they are all thinking." In today's Major Leagues, they pointed to Yamamoto Yoshinobu (山本由伸) as a vivid example: he reportedly never takes his eyes off his laptop in the dugout, presumably dissecting the opposing lineup. Defensive shifts have grown so precise that grounders once destined for center field are now caught by players who were already standing in position before the pitch. ## Climax Series — Yokohama's Maki and Hanshin's Miscalculation Turning to the Climax Series, both agreed that Maki (牧) of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars had been the defining performer. "He doesn't look like a power hitter, but he just keeps cracking them," they said. Both floated the possibility that Maki could eventually head to the Majors as well. As for Hanshin's defeat, their analysis was direct: injuries to Sato and Morishita (森下) kept both players off the field for roughly two games, and a prolonged losing streak in the second half of the season had already weakened the team. Losing one or two key players, they agreed, has an immediate and outsized effect on a side's firepower. ## How the Making-of for Kurosawa's "Ran" Ruined the Film The theme of managers served as a natural bridge to film directors. Kitaro revealed that after watching the behind-the-scenes documentary for Kurosawa Akira's (黒澤明) "Ran," he found he could no longer enjoy the finished film. On set, roughly five cameras were arrayed alongside a sprawling crew, while actors performed long, demanding scenes on distant clifftops. The cameras never moved in close — they shot continuously from far away. Watching that footage gave Kitaro the nagging feeling that the actors were constrained, unable to play freely. The mechanics of the horse-fall scene compounded the effect: what appeared on screen as a warrior tumbling from a horse was achieved by a stuntman falling off a board that ran parallel to the horse, rather than actually riding one. "You're better off not watching the making-of," both concluded, and Otake agreed. As a counterpoint, Kitaro recalled a different production he appeared in where the director gave almost no direction at all — and he ended up delivering one of his most alive, uninhibited performances as a result. ## Takeaways - Kudo's 'middle management' framing unsettled Otake, who acknowledged the SoftBank track record but wanted to see a manager prepared to take full responsibility and stand up to the front office. - The Kawakami Giants V9 dynasty was built on importing the Dodger Way — bunt-play coordination, systematic backup positioning, and specialized relief pitching, none of which existed in Japanese baseball before Kawakami introduced them. - Kitaro's experience with the 'Ran' making-of footage — finding it stripped away the magic and left the film unenjoyable — led both men to conclude that behind-the-scenes material is best left unwatched.