Higashio was a star in the Koshien high school baseball tournament, helping his team advance to the semi-finals in the spring of 1968.

The team accepted his request, but quickly withdrew it when the Black Mist Scandal erupted in the 1969 off-season.

[1] Many fans sympathized with Davis, and demanded that Higashio be penalized as well for hitting so many batters.

Higashio worked as a sports commentator for various television networks before returning to the Lions in 1995 as manager.

Higashio drafted several top players, and recruited Darrin Jackson and Orestes Destrade from the major leagues, but ended up in 3rd place in his first two seasons as manager.

The emergence of several young players, including Kazuo Matsui, put the Lions over the top in Higashio's third year, and the team won consecutive league championships in 1997 and 1998 (the Lions lost the Japanese championship series both years).

Pitchers Shinji Mori, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Fumiya Nishiguchi and Denney Tomori also emerged during Higashio's tenure as manager.