Here we are at the All-Star break in Japan's patchwork baseball season, and enough cannot be said about the job done by Junji Ogawa, manager of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. In his first full season at the helm, Ogawa has had his team in first place since April, and it has been mentioned the teams at the top of the standings at the break are likely to win their league pennants.
Ogawa took over the job as (interim) manager on May 26, 2010, and compiled a record of 59-36, bringing the club from last place to fourth with the best winning percentage (.621) of any manager in Japanese baseball last season. The Swallows front office had no choice but to give Ogawa the job full time, and they must be glad they did.
This year, he took up where he left off last fall and, at the break, he has his club at the top of the standings with a record of 38-24-9, good for a .613 winning mark. The Swallows have an eight-game lead and are the only Central League team with a winning record.