Trey Hillman Named New Skipper of the Royals
The search for the newest manager for the Kansas City Royals officially came to an end today. Trey Hillman, former manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan, was announced to take the reins of the Royals.
I won't lie to you I don't know very much about Hillman except what I've read over the past few days, but he sounds like a great fit.
The Nippon Ham Fighters are a small market baseball team in Japan that focused on bringing young talent up through the minors(sound familiar?). Hillman took over for the fighters 4 years ago and revived them into a winning franchise. Last year they won the equivalant of the World Series in Japan and are in the championship game again this year.
Hillman has been involved in several major league orgainazations before moving to Japan. The most notable was being a minor league coach for the Yankees for 12 years. He was interviewed last year for manager positions of both the Rangers and the Athletics.
So with as little as known about Hillman, he already sounds like a perfect fit for the Royals. Small market. Young players. Farm system. Proven winner.
Side Bar Thought: With the current phenomenon that is Japanese pitchers, maybe the Royals will have some insight into the pitchers. Yes, I know that it's a bid system, but unknown talent won't need Dice-K money. I think the Red Sox aquired Hideki Okajima for $15 million and he's been outstanding.
We'll see how this managerial hire works out, but right, now in October, it seems like a great move.
Other Links about the Trey Hillman Hire
Enjoy!
-b