The story of Tomoko Namba, the female owner of DeNA, the winner of the Japanese Series
[OSEN = Baekjong, guest reporter] The event is a historical event. It is amazing, miraculous. And it is touching to someone else. The third place beat the first place. It is the biggest skirmish ever. We have overcome the 20-game gap. It is about Yokohama DeNA BayStars winning the Japanese Series.
The shock is amazing. Few days go by but there is one peculiar thing. Usually, attention is paid to the MVP or the manager. But it is different this time. A woman in her 60s gets a close-up shot. She is Tomoko Namba, 62, the owner of the team. She is the first female owner in Japanese pro baseball history.
There is an eye-catching scene. It was right after the team won the title. It was a crazy scene that the team staged. He participated in the beer shower in person. Daisuke Miura (50), the coach, takes courage. He opens two bottles of beer. And “How dare you?” He pours on the head of a 12-year-old owner. He is so immature. He likes to scream like a child.
It’s been a hot topic for days online. A commenter gets a lot of sympathy. ‘Pay for it, don’t show up to the ballpark, don’t even talk on the spot. Take a beer shower. Namba Mama, you’re the best owner.’
To put it simply, he said, “You spend a lot of money on the club, come to the ballpark often, and never interfere with the management of the team.” This is the perfect virtue for a welcoming owner.
In the midst of this, there is a title to pay attention to. It is “Mama” of “Namba Mama.” Originally, it means “Mama.” It is also used to call a hostess in a business. That is, they called her “auntie” rather than “chairman.” It is similar to ours. This is the phenomenon where “brother” owners dominate.
It was 13 years ago. So, it was November 2011. There is a perception change in the NPB. The Yokohama team, which had been suffering from a deficit, was put up for sale. Television (TBS), the major shareholder, decided to sell his stake. It is unusual in the popular Central League.
Several letters of intent to acquire the company were submitted. One of them was likely to be acquired. It was DeNA, a game company. It undergoes a one-month due diligence process. The sale was decided at 9.5 billion yen (about 86 billion won). It was in 2015, four years later. Namba became the owner of the team. It is the first female owner in Japanese pro baseball history.
She is the manager of an IT company. The first thing she paid attention to was the stands. Filling in empty places became the beginning of change.
My first goal was to turn my home stadium into a ball park. I realized my plan step by step. First of all, I opened the restroom and fixed it. Then, I developed my own beer brand and activated inter-inning events. I went all-in to realize that it is fun to go to a baseball stadium.
The result was out. At the time of sale, it was hard to fill half of the total. The annual audience was around 1.1 million. When it comes to utilization rate, it only stands at 50.4 percent. It has doubled in seven years. It exceeded 2 million for the first time in 2018. This year, it exceeded 2.35 million, the highest ever recorded.
This change was shown to be an improvement in the balance of payments. It turns into a surplus management. That’s not all. A more important phenomenon is revealed. It awakened the team.
This is what Yoshimoto Tsutsugo said. “Before that, the booing sounded vivid. But it changed as the crowd increased. The booing was all over the crowd. When I went out on the ground, I could only feel the applause of encouragement and the anticipated gaze.” 안전놀이터
The confession continued. “That’s when all the players started to feel it. Now I can’t make shameful plays. I have come to realize that. I also remember saying that to high-ranking players in my club. It was like, ‘Now it’s our players’ turn.’
That change eventually led to this victory. It has been 26 years since 1998. It is the first time since the name was changed to DeNA.