Former Yankees slugger Matsui becomes newest Yomiuri Giants manager

Hideki Matsui. June 28, 2007. Via Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Keith Allison.

The Yomiuri Giants have tapped former New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui as the Japanese team’s new manager. Matsui will serve in that position until he leaves for the U.S.

Matsui moved to Major League Baseball in 2003, and spent most of his two-decade pro career with the Yankees. During his pro career, he hit a combined 507 home runs in both Japan and the U.S.

Matsui will replace interim manager Hideki Hashigami, who became the Giants’ manager earlier this year, after Shinnosuke Abe resigned.