Baseball: World Series manager revels in Japan lessons

Torey Lovullo, who this year managed the underdog Arizona Diamondbacks into Major League Baseball’s championship series, played only briefly in Japan, but has credited the injury-hit final year of his career with opening his eyes to different possibilities within the game of baseball.

One part of the Diamondbacks puzzle this year was Lovullo bringing in a guest instructor from Japan, Hall of Fame catcher Atsuya Furuta, a 2000 teammate of his with the Tokyo-based Yakult Swallows.

“I explained to this player, who was a superstar...and asked him if I ever did (become a manager), if he’d join my s...