Nippon Ham Fighter Gets Royal Summons

Kansas City taps Japan league vet Hillman for manager's job
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 20, 2007 8:00 AM CDT
Nippon Ham Fighter Gets Royal Summons
Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman is tossed in the air by his players after the Fighters clinched the Pacific League title in a game against the Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium, near Tokyo, on Saturday September 29, 2007. Clobbering second-placed Lotte 9-1, the Fighters won the Pacific...   (Associated Press)

You can go home again if you're Trey Hillman. The longtime minor league manager in the Yankees farm system, who spent the last five years managing Hokkaido's Nippon Ham-sponsored squad in Japan's Pacific League, will be introduced on Monday in Kansas City as the new manager of the Royals. 

“This is a wonderful blessing and a great opportunity to build a winner," Hillman tells the Kansas City Star. The 44-year-old, who has interviewed for major league jobs in the past in the States, had been considered a longshot candidate to replace Joe Torre because of his 11-year tenure in the minor leagues with the Yanks. He replaces Buddy Bell, who resigned last month. (More Buddy Bell stories.)

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