is the former

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, ...

. He was the number 1 draft pick for the Seibu Lions in 1982 and went on to play for them until 2003. He was talented at leading pitcher, and led his team to winning 12 Pacific League championships and 10

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

winners. After his retirement, he managed and led his team to the 2004 Japan Series championship. On 30th October 2018, it was announced that Itō would be joining the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

as head coach under new manager Tsuyoshi Yoda.

Career statistics

Titles and awards

*Best Nine : 10 times (1985–1988, 1990–1992, 1997–1998, 2002) *Golden Glove : 11 times (1985–1988, 1990–1992, 1994–1995, 1997–1998) *Commissioner's Award : (2003) *All Star appearance : 16 times (1984–1998, 2002) *305 sacrifice bunts in career (Pacific League record)

References

External links

* 1962 births Living people Sportspeople from Kumamoto Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Seibu Lions players Managers of baseball teams in Japan Seibu Lions managers Chiba Lotte Marines managers {{japan-baseball-manager-stub