Hirokazu Ibata. (Getty/Kyodo)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Hirokazu Ibata will step down as Japan’s national baseball team manager when his contract expires at the end of next month, Nippon Professional Baseball announced Monday.
Ibata skippered Japan at March’s World Baseball Classic, culminating in a quarterfinal loss by the defending champion to eventual tournament winner Venezuela in Miami.
“We couldn’t achieve the results we wanted and couldn’t meet expectations, but the players fought their hardest,” Ibata said in a statement. “It is my responsibility that we couldn’t win.”
The 50-year-old was a member of the national team coaching staff before taking over as manager in October 2023 from Hideki Kuriyama, who led Samurai Japan to its record third WBC title earlier that year.
Ibata’s successor has yet to be named.