Charles Fuqua Manuel Jr. is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his playing career, he appeared over parts of six Major League Baseball seasons for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers, before playing another six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Yakult Swallows and Kintetsu Buffaloes. Over four successive seasons in NPB, Manuel hit at least .312 with 37 home runs each season and won the 1979 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award.

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri Giants. They have won nine Central League championships and six Japan Series championships. Since 1964, they have played their home games at Meiji Jingu Stadium.