Sadao Kondo, a Hall of Famer who was known for helping establish the division of labor for pitchers and who skippered the Chunichi Dragons and two other teams, died at a Tokyo hospital on Monday.
He was 80. A native of Aichi Prefecture, he pitched in 14 seasons, first for the prewar Nishitetsu baseball team and later for the Yomiuri Giants and the Dragons.
Kondo retired after the 1954 season and served as a pitching coach for the Dragons and the Lotte Orions.
In 1981, he returned to the Dragons as manager and led the Nagoya-based ballclub to the Central League championship in 1982.
Kondo was manager of the Taiyo Whales from 1985-86 and of the Nippon Ham Fighters from 1989-1991.
He had since been working as a baseball commentator.
While working for the Dragons as a pitching coach, he helped extend starters' careers by having setup men and closers.