Baseball: Hideki Matsui pays final respects to Nagashima at private viewing
KYODO NEWS - 9 minutes ago - 14:50 | Sports, All
Former Yomiuri Giant and New York Yankee Hideki Matsui visited the home of Shigeo Nagashima on Wednesday to offer condolences following his former manager's death a day earlier.
The 50-year-old Matsui had joined Yomiuri after Nagashima -- affectionately called "Mr. Giants," "Mr. Pro Baseball" or oftentimes just "Mister" -- secured negotiating rights to the slugger in the 1992 draft, soon after returning to management.
"The biggest thing is gratitude. Without getting to meet him, baseball player Hideki Matsui would have spent a totally different baseball career," Matsui, who had last met Nagashima in early January, said being given the opportunity to see him in repose at his home.
"He drew me at the draft. He taught me precious things through his practice swings."
Matsui, who currently resides in the United States, flew back to Japan and made the visit early Wednesday morning, staying at the home for over two hours.
"I spent the time recalling many memories. I felt as if his mind was still there and he would open his eyes at any moment," said Matsui, who developed into one of the most feared sluggers in Japan under Nagashima's enthusiastic guidance.
A charismatic figure, Nagashima rose to stardom during Japan's era of rapid economic growth, helping Yomiuri win nine consecutive Central League and Japan Series titles from 1965. He was the CL batting champion six times, the home run king twice and the RBI leader and the CL MVP five times each.
As Giants manager, he won five pennants, including two Japan Series titles, over 15 seasons spanning two stints before leaving the role in 2001.
Matsui, nicknamed "Godzilla," won the CL MVP three times and hit 332 home runs for Yomiuri, claiming the CL pennant three times under Nagashima in 1994, 1996 and 2000 and the Japan Series twice in 1994 and 2000.
"We've shared many moments together and I feel I'm a really fortunate person," Matsui said.
He joined the Yankees in 2003 and had 175 homers over 10 seasons in the majors, becoming the first Japanese player to win the World Series MVP in 2009 when he hit three homers.
Nagashima and Matsui both received the People's Honor Award in 2013, bestowed by Japan's prime minister for outstanding achievements in sports, entertainment and other fields.
Related coverage:
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dead at 89
Tributes to Nagashima pour in from Japanese sports world
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
4 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Xi, Trump agree to new round of Sino-U.S. trade talks
KYODO NEWS - 22 hours ago - 02:15 | World, All Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed during their teleconference Thursday that the two countries will hold a new round of trade talks as soon as possible, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Trump said in a social media post, "Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined." He also told reporters at the White House that he and Xi "straightened out" some points mainly involving rare earths. The U.S. president added in his post that the call, which lasted about 90 minutes and focused almost entirely on trade, led to a "very positive conclusion" for both sides. The first confirmed conversation between the two leaders since the U.S. president took office in January for a nonconsecutive second term came amid renewed bilateral trade tensions over alleged violations of a tariff accord struck in Geneva in mid-May. Xi said the Geneva agreement proved that "dialogue and cooperation is the only right choice" for China and the United States. He urged Washington to "remove the negative measures" taken against Beijing, according to the Chinese ministry. The world's two largest economies agreed on a 90-day truce in their trade war in the Swiss city to de-escalate tensions, with the two countries committed to backing away from their respective triple-digit tariffs. But the United States has expressed frustration over China's slow progress toward removing export controls on critical rare-earth minerals used in high-tech products as part of the Geneva accord. Trump sounded optimistic about the minerals in his post, saying, "There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products." Xi stressed that China has been "seriously and earnestly executing the agreement" and called on the U.S. side to "acknowledge the progress already made," according to the ministry. Earlier this week, China's Commerce Ministry said Trump's accusation that China has violated the trade accord was "groundless" and "grossly distorts the facts." The ministry also criticized the Trump administration for introducing "discriminatory measures" against China, including issuing guidance on export controls of artificial intelligence chips and revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the United States. The Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Trump as telling Xi that the United States "loves to have Chinese students coming to study in America." Xi welcomed Trump to visit China again, for which the U.S. president expressed heartfelt appreciation, it added. As for Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island claimed by the mainland, Xi urged Washington to handle the issue "with prudence" so that separatist forces seeking the territory's independence "will not be able to drag China and America into the dangerous terrain of confrontation and even conflict." Xi and Trump last held telephone talks on Jan. 17, shortly before the U.S. president's inauguration. Related coverage: Pentagon chief urges Asian allies to invest in defense to deter China Rubio says U.S. to "aggressively" revoke visas of Chinese students
5 hours ago
87 Japan Universities to Help Int'l Students after Harvard Ban
News from Japan Society Culture Jun 6, 2025 23:25 (JST) Tokyo, June 6 (Jiji Press)--Eighty-seven Japanese universities have announced support measures for international students in the United States, following an order barring Harvard University from accepting such students, the education ministry and the Japan Student Services Organization said Friday. The scope of students eligible for the support measures and the extent of such aid differ from university to university. Tohoku University said that it will accept undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in U.S. universities who face difficulties continuing their studies mainly due to the ban by President Donald Trump's administration. They will be accepted to the national university in northeastern Japan as nondegree students not required to pay tuition or enrollment fees. Many Japanese universities will accept those affected as regular students or nonregular occasional students, regardless of nationality or where they currently study. Some universities have said that such students will be exempt from tuition and be provided with lodging at dormitories. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Kyodo News
5 hours ago
- Kyodo News
H.K. activist Joshua Wong faces new charge of colluding with foreign forces
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 21:00 | World, All Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, who has been jailed over a subversion case, was newly charged Friday with "conspiring to collude with foreign forces" under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. The 28-year-old, who was sentenced in November to four years and eight months in prison over an unofficial primary election, allegedly conspired with fellow activist Nathan Law to urge foreign countries to impose sanctions or take other hostile actions against Hong Kong and China between July 1 and Nov. 23, 2020. He was also accused of requesting foreign powers or organizations to "seriously disrupt the formulation and implementation of laws or policies" by mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. His case was adjourned until Aug. 8. Law is currently in self-imposed exile in Britain. Beijing introduced the national security legislation to the semiautonomous city in 2020 to criminalize activities such as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external elements. The offense of collusion with foreign forces carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Related coverage: 45 Hong Kong democracy activists sentenced to up 10 years Hong Kong 2019 pro-democracy protest song banned as court reverses ruling
