KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Last November at his sayonara party in Tokyo, I semi-promised outgoing Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman I would travel to Kansas City in 2008 to see him in action as skipper of the American League Royals. Last month, I made good on that promise.

Prior to the Royals' June 24 interleague meeting against the Colorado Rockies (the middle game of a three-game series swept by the home team), Hillman invited me into his office at Kaufmann Stadium for a chat while he munched on a snack — not onigiri wrapped in seaweed, but what appeared to be some sort of triangular-shaped mini-tacos.

We talked about his five years as field boss of the Fighters, his ups and downs with the Royals, where he's suffered through separate losing streaks of five and 12 games but recently went through a hot run where they won 11 of 12, and his prospects for the future in western Missouri.

Comparing his job in K.C. with his former position in Hokkaido, Hillman said, "I felt just as much pressure in Japan as I do here because of the way some foreigners, especially in leadership positions (in Japan), are looked at and scrutinized."

He did not elaborate but added there are things he misses and does not miss after his half decade in the Far East.

"I miss the Japanese people," Hillman admitted. "I miss the players, the people in the (Fighters) front office. I miss Ken (interpreter Kenichi Iwamoto), Yoshi (assistant general manager Hiroshi Yoshimura) and Toshi (acting owner Toshimasa Shimada).

"I miss seeing Tak (Takeshi Kojima, the former Nippon Ham team president and the man mostly responsible for hiring Hillman as the Fighters manager in 2003), even though he's not there any more. I miss my conversations with Okoso-san (chairman of the board Hiroji Okoso). Good dude.

"But the fact I had to use an interpreter, as much as I love him, I don't miss that. I like it a lot better this way, and there's something psychological about my family being in Texas and knowing I'm only a few hours away. When I was in Sapporo, I was 15 or 17 hours away."

Even so, Hillman enjoyed gazing at the lush green landscape of Japan's northernmost main island.

"This (Kansas City) is a pretty area. We live in Overland Park, but nothing can compare with the beauty of Hokkaido. I love that island," he said.

Regarding the losing streaks and the rough first half-season with the Royals, Hillman admitted, "It hurts any way you slice it, and it's not something you can ever get used to, so that's the biggest thing I was not prepared for, but I don't think you can prepare yourself to lose 12 (consecutive games). I saw 11 (straight losses) in Japan in 2005, and the 12 in a row here was just as painful.

"Anything that could go wrong during that stretch did go wrong, with the exception of a major injury. It was a missed play here, one bad pitch there, the inability to get the bunt down . . . then we had a problem matching up our pitching with our offense.

"Other than that, it's everything I expected it would be. I really have a good sense and feel of living in this community of just how hungry they are. There have been a lot of lean years here since they had a title (in 1985), so there is a lot of frustration; much has been written and said.

He is confident the situation is going to get better and believes the Royals fans will be there to support the team, just as Sapporo came around to back the Fighters after Hillman brought the team north from Tokyo in 2004.

"The fans in Hokkaido are still the best I've ever experienced. Kansas City might read this, but the fans here are not there yet. I think we can get them there, but you're not going to get there in one day. The years have been so lean and, by the way we've lost games, we've hurt ourselves.

"Our recent winning streak has helped get some people out to the ballpark, and my hope and dream is that we can get the fan base here up to the same level it was in Hokkaido as far as loyalty and consistency, and we can re-establish that here because this community is so hungry.

"It lost its basketball franchise (the NBA's Kings to Sacramento in 1985) and its hockey franchise (the NHL's Scouts to Denver in 1976). The football team (the Chiefs of the NFL) and baseball team have not done well, so hopefully sooner than later we can give them a winner," said Hillman.

I would bet on that.

Next week: More about the baseball experience at Kaufmann Stadium and additional comments from Trey Hillman about the Royals and Fighters.

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Contact Wayne Graczyk at [email protected]