Hirokazu Ibata, a seven-time Golden Glove-winning shortstop who has never managed at the professional level, is now in line to become the manager of Japan's senior national team, a source with knowledge of the matter said Sunday.
The 48-year-old would replace Hideki Kuriyama, who managed Japan to the World Baseball Classic championship in March and left after his contract expired in May.
Ibata, who played most of his career with the Central League's Chunichi Dragons, wrapped up his playing days in 2015 after two seasons with the CL's Yomiuri Giants. He was a member of Samurai Japan in the 2013 WBC and coached in 2021 for the gold medal-winning Tokyo Olympic team.
Kuriyama in March won Japan's third WBC championship and its first since 2009 with the help of four Major League Baseball players: Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Lars Nootbaar and Masataka Yoshida.
After Kuriyama left, a new manager was expected to be named in August, but the committee charged with the decision was unable to do so.
The new manager's first games will be at November's Asia Pro Baseball Championship, and he is tasked with leading Japan at the next WBC, scheduled for the spring of 2026.
