Softbank Hawks manager Sadaharu Oh said Thursday he intends to step down after the 2008 season, which will be his 14th year at the helm of the Pacific League team. "That's what I intend to do, indeed," Oh told reporters at Haneda Airport in Tokyo when asked about his plan to quit. "I still need to talk about it with the club owner but I thought I had to make it clear to the players, too." Oh said he notified the Softbank players of his plan to leave their team after one more season shortly after the Hawks were eliminated from the first stage of the postseason Climax Series on Wednesday night at the hands of the Lotte Marines. Oh skippered the Hawks all year after being sidelined for the second half of the 2006 season due to stomach cancer. He had his stomach removed in a successful operation in July last year. This year, the Hawks clinched a spot in the postseason playoffs after finishing third in the Pacific League.
