Alex Ramirez is set to resign as manager of the YokohamaDeNA BayStars at the end of the season, with farm team manager and former ace pitcher Daisuke Miura emerging as his likely successor, sources close to the team said Friday.
The BayStars’ pennant hopes evaporated on Friday, with the club 14½ games behind the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants. The Yokohama-based team is currently ranked fourth in the six-team league with a record of 50-52-5.
The coronavirus-shortened 2020 season is Ramirez’s fifth at the helm.
Yokohama finished among the top three in the CL in three of four seasons under Ramirez starting in 2016. The team also reached the Japan Series in 2017 and finished second in the league last season.
The 46-year-old,who was born in Venezuela, was the first foreign-born player to record 2,000 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Yakult Swallows, Yomiuri Giants and the BayStars.
Miura, also 46, retired in 2016 after winning 172 games. He played his entire career in Yokohama.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times