Last week, Softbank Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award, for his work in getting his injury-hit team to the Japan Series and winning it for the third time in his four years in charge in Fukuoka.

On Saturday, the Hall of Fame pitcher commented on the seemingly difficult choices he had in switching out front-line starter Shota Takeda and sticking him in the bullpen, where they were effective. Takeda was effective in middle relief in the postseason, where Kudo’s managing has even earned plaudits from John Gibson (@JBWPodcast).

“Those weren’t hard decisions,” Kudo said at Tokyo Dome, where he attended an event of the “Meikyukai” Golden Players Club. “We have so much pitching depth that we had lots of options. And even then, the decisions were only made after lots of study and discussion among the coaches.”

Is that indicative of a high level of communication within your team?

“Within the team, perhaps, but when it comes to communication, I’m the worst of anyone,” said Kudo, slightly tongue in cheek. “They do the talking, I listen.”