TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nippon Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo will stay at the helm next season, he said Thursday, the day of the Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

"I want to prove that this year's result wasn't a fluke," the popular 52-year-old skipper said, referring to the Pacific League club's leap to second place in his third season after back-to-back last-place finishes.

When the Fighters were eliminated from the playoffs last Friday by the SoftBank Hawks, Shinjo said he was going to decide whether to stay or leave by draft day.

The Hokkaido-based club reached the postseason for the first time in six years.

In 2022, Shinjo took over his last pro club as manager without having any previous coaching experience.

The former New York Mets and San Francisco Giants outfielder helped Chusei Mannami, Kotaro Kiyomiya and Yuya Gunji develop into key contributors while attracting fans to the Fighters' new park, Es Con Field Hokkaido.