Late Tsuneo Watanabe Wielded Huge Influence over Baseball World

   Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)--Yomiuri Shimbun group boss Tsuneo Watanabe, who died Thursday at the age of 98, wielded a tremendous influence on the baseball world beyond his roles as owner and chairman of the Yomiuri Giants, a Japanese professional baseball team affiliated with the major newspaper publisher.
   His bold remarks often stirred a controversy. When Tatsunori Hara resigned as Giants manager in 2003, Watanabe said that the resignation was a "personnel change in the Yomiuri group," drawing criticisms that he was taking personal control of the team.
   Over the realignment of professional baseball teams in Japan in 2004 stemming from the merger of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave, Watanabe faced a fierce backlash from baseball lovers around Japan after he called Atsuya Furuta "just a player." Furuta, then a catcher of the Yakult Swallows, now the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, was handling the matter as head of the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association at the time,
   When opinions were divided over the draft system and other matters, he sometimes threatened to pull the Giants, one of the most popular professional baseball teams in Japan, out of the league and form a new one. The possible withdrawal of the Giants, which helped bring huge broadcasting right fees at the time, was a matter of life and death for other teams.
   In autumn 2011, Watanabe dismissed Hidetoshi Kiyotake, who was president of the company operating the Giants at the time. Kiyotake told a news conference that the powerful leader "intervened in personnel affairs over (Giants) coaches to take personal control of the team." Watanabe appeared in related trials and long made his presence felt at the center of the Yomiuri group.

(2024/12/19-19:05)