Baseball: Ohtani’s mentor Kuriyama to step down as Fighters manager

Nippon Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama, who orchestrated Shohei Ohtani’s development as a two-way star, and won the most games in franchise history, announced Saturday that he will step down at the end of the season. Kuriyama, 60, steered the Fighters to his first Pacific League pennant in his 2012 managing debut, and won the league and Japan Series in 2016, when Ohtani was voted PL MVP in his fourth pro season. In April, Kuriyama won his 632nd game, surpassing former skipper Keiji Osawa for the most wins in franchise history. This season, however, the Fighters have been mired in last pla…

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