The professional baseball team Samsung Lions has completed a contract with Toshiyaki Imae, former manager of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, for a Quality Control (QC) coach.
Originally set to be a hitting instructor, Coach Imae will join the team for about 10 to 15 days each month until the end of September to provide guidance on hitting, defense, and baserunning for the players.
Coach Imae visited Samsung's second spring camp in Okinawa, Japan, twice in February to provide special instruction, and it was agreed to continue discussions even after the regular season begins.
Manager Park Jin-man noted, "Coach Imae has managerial experience in Japan and I believe he can identify points necessary for our team. I expect him to bring positive energy from the bench. His arrival will greatly help improve the team atmosphere."
Meanwhile, Coach Imae, who played for the Chiba Lotte and Rakuten in Japanese professional baseball, has participated in a total of 1,704 games in the first team, recording a batting average of .283, totaling 1,682 hits, 108 home runs, 726 RBIs, 642 runs, and 32 stolen bases.
In 2006, he contributed to the Japanese national team winning the World Baseball Classic (WBC). He also won the Japan Series MVP in 2005 and 2010.
He has been involved as a coach for five years with Rakuten since 2020, serving as a hitting coach for the first team from May 2023, and subsequently as the first team manager last year.
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