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Tanaka welcomes childhood hero Matsui to the Giants' dugout

Hideki Matsui's first autumn camp as manager reunites former Giants teammates Yoshinobu Takahashi and Takayuki Shimizu on his coaching staff.

Channel: ANNnewsCH ·

JapanStory of October 31, 2026Trari Newsroom

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“ゴジラ”松井新監督、本格始動　新体制“黄金時代”勢ぞろい【スーパーJチャンネル】(2026年10月30日)

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0:00Matsui arrives at the Giants' autumn camp wearing number 90, with fans and media gathered.
1:28Players, staff and club officials assemble in center field for their new manager's address.
3:07Tanaka explains that Matsui was his childhood hero and describes his excitement about sharing a uniform.
4:10Takahashi and Shimizu appear as the report introduces the new coaching staff.
5:13Matsui reflects on returning to Giants uniform and the training ground where he began as a rookie.
6:33Takahashi recounts Matsui's telephone invitation to become head coach.

For Masahiro Tanaka, the new manager arriving at autumn training camp is also the player he watched as a boy. The Giants pitcher grew up supporting the club, and Hideki Matsui was his hero. Sharing a uniform with him now, Tanaka says, feels like a meaningful connection.

Matsui took the field at Yomiuri Giants Stadium in Kawasaki wearing number 90, with supporters and reporters waiting to see his first steps in charge. Japan's All-Nippon News Network (ANNnewsCH), operated by TV Asahi, captures fans arriving hours before practice and Matsui addressing players, staff and club officials gathered in center field.

The former Giants and New York Yankees slugger, nicknamed Godzilla, described returning in Giants uniform after more than two decades as deeply moving. The training ground was also where he began as a rookie.

Veterans Hayato Sakamoto and Tanaka approached him after the team meeting. Tanaka's interview gives the occasion a perspective beyond the managerial appointment: a childhood supporter becoming a senior player under the star he once admired.

The reunion extends to the coaching staff. Yoshinobu Takahashi becomes head coach, while Takayuki Shimizu takes charge of hitting. Both played alongside Matsui in the Giants' outfield. Takahashi explains that the invitation came by telephone, with Matsui asking him to join him for the following season. Shimizu speaks about working together toward the same goal.

That familiar company accompanies a message about change. In a separate report from the camp, Matsui urges players of every career stage to keep improving, understand the purpose of each practice and concentrate fully on what they can control. He tells them the club's traditions cannot rest on earlier generations' achievements: the players themselves must build a strong Giants team and give its flag new meaning.