Surprisingly, the Yokohama BayStars refused to renew Akihiko Oya's contract despite leading the team to their best record (72-63) since 1970. Mystery surrounds the decision.

The BayStars claimed that Oya did not want to continue in the job, but his tearful good-bye to the players and fans suggested otherwise.

Showing their appreciation, the team hoisted him in the air as if they had just won a pennant. Not for a long time has Yokohama had such a popular and successful manager.

Replacing him, battery coach Hiroshi Gondo inherits the team. With no managing experience, Gondo has yet to show what he can do. The first changes he introduced were demands that his players call him by his given name and that the team have less meetings. Perhaps the easygoing atmosphere will allow the BayStars to play up to their potential without choking. But the last two times Yokohama changed skippers, the team faltered.

Maybe Gondo can buck the trend but the odds don't appear stacked in his favor. In 1997, Oya got career-best performances from several of his players and Gondo will likely have trouble getting them to repeat.

And since to many critics Yokohama appears to be a team on the rise, the pressure will be on them to perform well.

Before his coaching job, Gondo played for the Chunichi Dragons in the 1960s. As a pitcher he won the 1961 Rookie of the Year award while leading the league in three pitching categories with a 35-19 record, 310 strikeouts, and a 1.70 ERA.

Despite going 30-17 the following season, Gondo soon burned out his arm.

In 1966, he left the mound and worked as a position player before retiring in 1969. In those five seasons as a pitcher, he compiled a 82-60 record and a career 2.69 ERA.