Rakuten Eagles announced on the 10th that manager Hajime Miki would be taking a leave of absence. The decision was made after discussions between the manager and the team, and head coach Tatsuya Shiokawa will take over as acting manager from that day's game against The Giants. Rakuten Eagles team president Masayuki Morii spoke to reporters before the game, explaining the managerial change: "We spoke with Manager Miki and decided on a leave of absence. His contributions to the team are immeasurable. This decision wasn't based on win-loss records. There are 85 games left. We're not giving up yet."

The team has a record of 21 wins, 36 losses, and 1 tie after 58 games. They have been struggling since the start of interleague play, with a record of 2 wins and 10 losses. In the game against The Giants on the 9th (Rakuten Eagles Mobile's strongest team), they were soundly defeated both offensively and defensively. They suffered their fourth consecutive loss, putting them at their worst deficit of the season at 15 games below .500. When asked about manager Miki's abilities, President Morii said, "I cannot comment on his abilities at this time. It is not solely the manager's responsibility. It is my responsibility that I was unable to let him run through the entire year. This is the first decision I have made to move the team in a positive direction."

They are 14.5 games behind league leaders Seibu Lions, and their chances of winning the championship on their own could be eliminated as early as the 10th. They are in a difficult situation, sitting at the bottom of the league, 7 games behind fifth-place Lotte. On the 4th, they suffered a crushing comeback loss against DeNA (Yokohama) after being down by 7 runs, and although they had taken measures to improve the situation, such as changing pitcher coach's position on the 5th, they have now taken an even more drastic measure.

Manager Miki has followed an unusual career path, serving as the first-team manager once every 20 years, then managing the second team, and finally returning to the first team. However, in his second year back with the first team, he was unable to achieve the results he had hoped for.

In his place, Head Coach Shiokawa will serve as interim manager. The interim manager, who has supported the team as a coach for Rakuten Eagles for many years, will be looking to turn things around.