By Scott Vosper, Palm Springs Semaphore
Oct. 29, 2019

Change has come to the dugout of the Palm Springs Codgers.  Manager Takeru Suzuki has retired, after ten seasons at the helm.  The veteran coach announced his decision on October 25.

“A decade running this club would age anybody,” said Suzuki, 64.

The Codgers won 100 games and made the Sovereign League playoffs in 2010, his first year as manager, but have struggled since then, never finishing higher than third place in the Desert Hills division and losing 90 or more games three times.  He finishes his PEBA career with an overall regular season record of 798 wins and 822 losses, all with Palm Springs, for a winning percentage of .493.

Suzuki plans to return to Yamaguchi Prefecture in his native country of Japan.

Palm Springs wasted no time in obtaining a replacement, hiring Ryuichi Suzuki as of October 28.  This replacement Suzuki, after a ten-year career playing in the Japanese LRS and the minors of PEBA, managed West Virginia for four seasons.  Despite having no prior coaching experience, he led the Alleghenies to their only playoff appearance in 2017.  (The West Virginia franchise had made the playoffs once before, but the team was called the Coal Sox at that time.)  He racked up a 317-331 record with West Virginia, where his contract was not renewed after the 2019 season.

“His record may not show it, but Ryuichi has a LEGENDARY reputation for coaching hitting, pitching, and handling every sort of player, so we were overjoyed to bring him to the Codgers,” said Palm Springs General Manager Denny Hills.

“I’m actually tearing up a little just thinking about it.”