\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7.jpg\")
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
\nYomiuri Giants acting manager Hideki Hashigami, left, greets fans after winning an interleague game against the SoftBank Hawks at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on May 27, 2026. (Kyodo) <\/p>\n
\n TOKYO (Kyodo) — Seeking to pull together with a caretaker at the helm, the Yomiuri Giants have gone 3-3 through two interleague series since last week’s sudden resignation of high-profile skipper Shinnosuke Abe following his arrest over an incident involving his daughter.
\n<\/p>\n
\n Acting manager Hideki Hashigami, formerly the club’s head offensive coach and Abe’s senior at high school, has become the first person to manage the Giants without previously having played for the oldest and most storied professional baseball team in Japan.
\n<\/p>\n
\n The Japanese baseball world was rocked by the arrest of the 47-year-old Abe for allegedly grabbing his teenage daughter and forcing her to the floor at their home in Tokyo on May 25. She was not injured.
\n<\/p>\n
\n The former star catcher was released in the early hours of the following day and subsequently offered his resignation for “tarnishing the proud tradition of Giants managers.”
\n<\/p>\n
\n The 60-year-old Hashigami had not expected the Giants to ask him to pick up the reins in the wake of Abe’s departure but was quick to accept the offer.
\n<\/p>\n
\n “There was no room for hesitation or second thoughts, I had no choice but to say yes,” said Hashigami, who played for the Yakult Swallows and several other clubs.
\n<\/p>\n
\n He has sought the cooperation of key players, including captain and catcher Yukinori Kishida and veteran infielder Hayato Sakamoto, urging them to stay focused and keep doing their jobs despite the upheaval.
\n<\/p>\n
\n Hashigami, who had coaching experience with several clubs before joining the Giants, including under Katsuya Nomura, widely regarded in Japan as one of the country’s greatest baseball managers, has left decisions on the starting lineup to his staff to give them a greater sense of responsibility and reward.
\n<\/p>\n
\n Based on their recommendations, Hashigami brought Sakamoto and outfielder Yoshihiro Maru into the starting lineup after both had seen limited playing time this season.
\n<\/p>\n
\n Hashigami earned his first win in his second game in charge on Wednesday, as the Giants rallied around their veteran leaders to beat the SoftBank Hawks.
\n<\/p>\n
\n With players putting aside their emotions and focusing on each game, Sakamoto, who has a close relationship with Abe, said, “We will continue to prepare for games as before,” while admitting, “Personally, I have a lot on my mind.”
\n<\/p>\n
\n The popular Tokyo-based club, often described as Japan’s equivalent of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball, has traditionally appointed former star players as manager.
\n<\/p>\n
\n But Hashigami is striving to forge a new image of a Giants manager without relying on the sense of authority and gravitas that come from having a long history with the organization.
\n<\/p>\n
\n “I want the players to feel relaxed in a positive way,” he said.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yomiuri Giants acting manager Hideki Hashigami, left, greets fans after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2302],"tags":[5,2372,2370,2353,2352,185,2371],"class_list":["post-714981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-npb","tag-baseball","tag-japan","tag-latest-articles","tag-nippon-professional-baseball","tag-npb","tag-sports","tag-the-mainichi"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116678005178757002","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}