I've been last for three years in a row and I've stepped down...Former coach Tatsunami, who was upset by continued slanderous texts, announced a strong legal initial decision

Mar 04, 2025

Former Junichi Tatsunami. He announced that he would take legal action against himself for slander. Photo capture = Chunichi Dragons SNS

In 2022-2024 when Tatsunami was in office, Chunichi ranked last in the Central League for the third consecutive year. Photo capture = Chunichi Dragons SNS

Even though he stepped down as coach of the Chunichi Dragons, the aftermath of his poor performance continues. Former coach Kazuyoshi Tatsunami (56) will take legal action against him for slanderous acts.

Director Tatsunami's agency recently said on its website that it will hold Kazuyoshi Tatsunami responsible for slander, false information, speculation and groundless posts, and criminal charges for intimidation, defamation, and obstruction of justice on SNS, anonymous bulletin boards, and Internet articles. He emphasized that he would respond firmly by using all possible means through his lawyer.

It is a very unusual response as a former director-turned-leader. The Chunichi coach was under severe sexual stress, but criticism that went too far seems to have continued even after he resigned as coach.

For the third year in a row, I couldn't get out of the nightmare of 'last place'.

Former coach Tatsunami is Junichi's legend. After graduating from the prestigious Osaka PL Academy, he joined Chunichi as a rookie in 1988. As a right-handed left-handed infielder, he played in 2,586 games over 22 seasons until 2009. He had a career-high 2,480 hits and a batting average of 285, 171 homers and 1,037 RBIs.

He has the most in this category by hitting triple-digit hits and hitting 487 doubles in 16 seasons. He entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. I've had my best career as a player. But the leader's path was different.

Chunichi squad greets fans after the final match at Tokyo Dome last year. Photo capture = Chunichi Dragons SNS

Chunichi went into recession after winning the Central League in 2010-2011. From 2013 to 2019, it was only the B-class for seven consecutive years. Chunichi raised Tatsunami as head coach at the end of the 2021 season. I was tasked with rebuilding the team.

Director Tatsunami experienced a disastrous failure. In the three years he led the team, Chunichi couldn't get out of the bottom. If he is in last place for two consecutive years, he may seriously think about replacing the head coach, but he pushed forward with persistence. You would have expected a rebound until the end.

I didn't even get lucky. There was no proper reinforcement of power, and the players brought from outside were sluggish. He actively used young players to try to take another leap forward, but he couldn't get out of the quagmire. In April last year, he won six consecutive games and got on a good track, but the warm spring ended short.

It was similar to Nippon Ham Fighters coach Tsuyoshi Shinjo and reached a different point. Coach Shinjo's Nippon Ham also ranked last in the Pacific League for the second consecutive year in 2022-2023. After hitting the bottom, he jumped up and rose to second place last year.