Matsui's Giants return brings old jerseys and unlikely supporters

Fans of other clubs join the welcome as Hideki Matsui asks his players to build a tradition of their own.

Channel: ANNnewsCH ·

JapanStory of November 1, 2026Trari Newsroom

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巨人・松井秀喜新監督　選手へ熱い訓示「新たな強いジャイアンツ」　3000人熱狂【もっと知りたい！】【グッド！モーニング】(2026年10月31日)

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0:15Matsui acknowledges the crowd as he arrives for his first autumn camp as the Giants' new manager.
1:45He urges purposeful practice, full effort on controllable tasks and a Giants culture built through the players' own achievements.
4:46Sakamoto stresses the players' responsibility for rebuilding; Tanaka describes the personal significance of playing under Matsui.
5:38Former outfield teammates Yoshinobu Takahashi and Takayuki Shimizu join Matsui's coaching staff.
6:17Spectators bring old uniforms, support from other clubs and memories of meeting Matsui during his playing career.

One supporter has pulled a Giants jersey out of storage after decades. Another makes a point of explaining that he is a lifelong Hanshin Tigers fan: he has come to see Hideki Matsui anyway.

Around 3,000 people gathered for the new Yomiuri Giants manager's first day of autumn camp, in a report from Japan's TV Asahi, whose All-Nippon News Network channel carries the footage. Matsui removes his cap to acknowledge the crowd, wearing team clothing with his new managerial number and his socks showing in an old-style baseball look.

The former Giants and New York Yankees slugger is returning to the Tokyo club after 24 years. But his message to the players is not an invitation to live in the past.

Matsui tells them that everyone, from young prospects to veterans, has room to improve. Training should have a clear purpose, and players should give their full effort to what they can control: without that effort, he says, they cannot get a full understanding of what their work produces.

He then turns to the club's identity. The Giants' special standing was built by earlier generations, he tells them. It is this team's responsibility to make the flag shine through its own achievements, rather than borrowed glory.

The report says the Giants have gone fourteen years without a Japan Series title. Veteran Hayato Sakamoto responds that the players must take responsibility for rebuilding a strong team, while pitcher Masahiro Tanaka describes sharing a uniform with Matsui as personally meaningful.

There are familiar faces alongside the new manager, too. Yoshinobu Takahashi becomes head coach and Takayuki Shimizu takes charge of hitting, reuniting members of the Giants' former outfield.

For one spectator, the return revives a smaller memory. Hideki Watanabe recalls meeting Matsui at a New York signing and explaining that they shared a first name, prompting Matsui to put both Hidekis on the autograph. He had not expected to see Matsui back in Japan wearing the uniform again.