Baseball: Yomiuri manager Hara set to step down after 2 difficult yrs

Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara has offered his resignation to the club after it finished fourth and out of the playoff spot for the second straight year in the six-team Central League, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

Having previously won nine league titles and three Japan series managing his old club, the 65-year-old former Giant struggled during his third stint and is set to step down with a year still left on his three-year contract.

Shinnosuke Abe, the 44-year-old former Giant currently a coach at the club, is likely to be promoted to the managerial post once Hara’...