Yokohama BayStars chairman Yukio Sunahara said Friday he will resign after the Central League club was known to have been engaged in unethical scouting of amateur prospect Yasuhiro Ichiba.
Hours later, Hanshin Tigers chairman Shunjiro Kuma revealed his intention to step down along with club president Katsuyoshi Nozaki over a similar scandal after Yokohama and Hanshin vied with each other to lure Ichiba.
According to sources familiar with the case, Yokohama paid a total of 600,000 yen to the 22-year-old former Meiji University pitcher in violation of collegiate baseball bylaws, the second such case in just over two months involving the highly touted right-hander.