 Together with his number 8, Yamamoto retired from playing for the Carp in 1986, when the team won the league championship but lost Japan Series for the Seibu Lions.Spending several years as a baseball analyst for NHK, Yamamoto returned to Hiroshima Carp as its manager in 1989.He finished the first two years in second place, then took the team to win the Central League pennant in 1991.