Probably the most open-minded manager in Japan, Akira Ogi's greatest achievement thus far has been leaving superstar outfielder Ichiro Suzuki alone.

Previous Orix manager Shozo Doi disliked Ichiro's independent attitude and batting style--he tends to lift his front leg back and forward like a pendulum before swinging. After refusing to change his style, Ichiro was demoted to the Orix minor league team.

However, when Ogi replaced Doi, he brought Ichiro back to the varsity team, left him alone (something most Japanese managers are loathe to do to any player), and the twenty-one year old Ichiro went on to tally a record 210 hits, batting an incredible .385 (a Pacific League record) in his first full season.

During the 1995 season, the Orix manager became known for what the media called "Ogi Magic." While alternating his line-up on a nearly daily basis, Ogi sought to create the best possible batting order to face each opposing hitter. His decisions apparently had a lot to do with who was hitting well, who was not and against whom. Generally, most managers do the same thing, but Ogi's unusual choices drew the most attention. Oddly, the skipper has avoided the most logical choice, putting the fast and excellent-hitting Ichiro in the lead-off spot.

In a stint managing the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1988 to 1992, Ogi compiled a 363-264 record (.579). Although the Buffaloes won the 1989 PL pennant with 71 wins, his team placed second in 1988 (74 wins), 1991 (77 wins), and 1992 (74 wins). Before he took over as manager, Kintetsu had been a last place team, but under Ogi, the Buffaloes were contenders four out of five years.

Moving to the BlueWave in 1993, Ogi led Orix to second place. A year later, his team won the Pacific League pennant but lost the Japan Series to the Yakult Swallows. in 1996, the BlueWave went all the way, humiliating the Yomiuri Giants to win the Japan Series in five games. Under his watch, Orix has compiled a four-year 295-217 record.

Today, Ogi is one of the most successful managers in Japan if for no other reason than he knows when to leave players alone. In 1996 he won the Shoriki Award for contribution to baseball. Unfortunately, because he leads a Pacific League team (lower in status than the Central League), Ogi doesn't get the exposure that far less successful managers like Yomiuri's Shigeo Nagashima get.

Though he seldom loses his temper, Ogi did pull his team off the field for about fifteen minutes during the 1996 Japan Series to protest a controversial call. Still a bachelor at age 62, off the field Ogi usually dresses as if he's on his way to Las Vegas, and he makes earnest attempts at humor. Before a game early in the 1997 season, a Playboy Playmate named Victoria visited the dugout and gave the Orix manager a bouquet of flowers. Ogi remarked that it was a good omen since Victoria might help Orix become "victorious." No one in the crowded dugout laughed.