Sadayoshi Fujimoto

Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) was a Japanese baseball manager, most notably as the first manager of the Tokyo Kyojin, which was later renamed to the Yomiuri Giants.

With the Kyojin, he won the Japanese Baseball League pennant seven times.

He was also the manager of the

Pacific Baseball Club (renamed to the Taiyo Robins during his tenure), the Hankyu Braves, and the Hanshin Tigers.

Fujimoto is third all-time for Japanese baseball managers in terms of career wins, with 1,655.

Fujimoto was born on December 20, 1904, in Matsuyama.

He attended Ehime Prefectural Matsuyama Commercial High School, where he played baseball as a pitcher and third baseman.

He participated in the Japanese High School Baseball Championship each of the four years he attended.

He then attended Waseda University, also playing baseball.

He graduated from Waseda in 1929.

In 1936, Fujimoto was appointed manager of the Tokyo Kyojin, also known as the Giants, for its inaugural year.

The Japanese Baseball League was initially played in series of half-seasons, the first being the fall season of 1936.

Under Fujimoto, the Kyojin finished the season with a record of 18–9, finishing second in the league, behind the Osaka Tigers.

The Kyojin and the Tigers played a best-of-three playoff series to determine the champion of the half-season.

The Kyojin won, 2–1.

The Kyojin would win the next half-season as well, with a record of 41–13–2, beating the Tigers by a half-game.

The Kyojin wouldn't win the next two half-seasons, but won the 1938 fall season in convincing fashion, beating the Tigers by 3.5 games.

The league did away with the half-season format in 1939 and installed a full-season format, which would be used from then on.

The Kyojin continued winning seasons under Fujimoto, winning the 1939 season with a 66–26–4 record, the 1940 season with a 76–28 record, the 1941 season with a 62–22–2 record, and the 1942 season with a 73–27–5 record.

The 1940 and 1942 seasons are considered especially dominant in regards to the history of Japanese baseball.

The team won by 10.5 and 12.5 games, respectively.

Fujimoto resigned as manager in 1943, to serve in World War II.

Fujimoto was unable to regain his position following the war.

During his tenure, Fujimoto became infamous for his harsh practice routines, which teams adopted following the success of the Kyojin.

The routines were dubbed "vomit practice", due to players regularly vomiting due to exhaustion.

Osamu Mihara was quoted in his memoir:

""The Giants, at that time, did not resemble a professional team.

Therefore, there was no other choice but to mold them into one... They did not have a moment's rest.

They were near tears because the training was so hard...""

Several members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame served under Fujimoto while he managed the Kyojin.

Shigeru Chiba, Shosei Go, Tetsuharu Kawakami, Shigeru Mizuhara, Haruyasu Nakajima, Eiji Sawamura, Victor Starffin, and Kazuhiro Yamauchi all played for Fujimoto and went on to be inducted to the Hall of Fame.

Fujimoto got another chance to manage a baseball team in 1946.

The offer was from the Pacific Baseball Club, formerly named the Asahi Baseball Club.

The team had poor records since its inception, with only one winning season in its ten-year history.

Under Fujimoto, the team finished with a 42–60–3 record for the 1946 season.

The team renamed itself as the Taiyo Robins for the 1947 season, but the newly named team failed to achieve a winning season this year either, finishing 50–64–5.

Hall of Famer Juzo Sanada spent time under Fujimoto during his tenure with the club.

Fujimoto took the helm of the Kinsei Stars in 1948.

The Stars were a fairly new team that was in its third season.

He was inducted to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.