TOKYO —

The Lotte Marines are in the final stages of tapping head coach Norifumi Nishimura as manager Bobby Valentine’s successor for next season, club officials said on Saturday. The 49-year-old Nishimura’s promotion is expected to be announced after the 2009 season upon the approval of owner Takeo Shigemitsu.
 
Lotte has already decided not to offer Valentine a contract extension after his current four-year contract expires at the end of the season. Nishimura spent his entire 16-year playing career with Lotte through 1997. He led the Pacific League with a .338 batting average in 1990. Lotte is last in the six-team standings with a 33-49 record.

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3 Comments

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  pawatan at 09:05 AM JST - 26th July

  Get your facts right! Orix has a 33-49-1 record and is last. Lotte has a 34-48-3 record and is fifth.

  Makes me wonder how well the rest of the article is fact checked when a simple look at the NPB page shows you that info.

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  bdaniel08 at 03:14 PM JST - 26th July

  Buffaloes is 33-49-1 and is last.

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  bdaniel08 at 03:15 PM JST - 26th July

  Sorry for the repeat "pawatan" :)

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