WATCH: Japanese baseball manager enters stadium in hover bike, leaves fans in awe

Japanese baseball manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo is a popular figure in his country for his antics on and off the field. The former baseball star, who also enjoyed a stint in Major League Baseball, has been appointed as the head coach of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters team in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League.

Despite having no prior experience as a coach, Shinjo was handed over the huge role ahead of the ongoing season. While his team has failed to get off to a great start having lost their first five games of the season in a row, Shinjo has been a hit among the fans thanks to his off-field antics.

On Tuesday, Shinjo left the crowd at the Sapporo Dome stunned as he made a grand entry at the stadium for his side's clash against Saitama Seibu Lions. It was the first home game of the season for the Nippon Ham Fighters' and Shinjo entered the arena flying on a hover-bike.

Shinjo was dressed in a red jacket and properly geared as he was seen taking off on a futuristic black vehicle at the stadium. The hover-craft took off a flew around the stadium for a minute before Shinjo landed on the ground and took off his helmet in style. He then dropped off his jacket and walked towards his team as fans watched in awe.

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While Shinjo's entry was nothing less than spectacular, his team's performance was far from impressive as they lost 4-0 against the Saitama Seibu Lions. The Nippon Ham Fighters are one of the most successful teams in the history of the Japanese baseball league and have won theJapan Series in 2006 and 2016.

Shinjo had represented the Fighters as a player from 2004 to 2006 before returning to the club as a coach this year. The larger-than-life baseball coach is famously known as the 'Bigg Boss' among the fans for histheatrical antics.

(With inputs from AFP)