As he prepares himself to manage a team in South Korean pro ball, Trey Hillman intends to take a slower approach than he did when he first showed up in Japan 14 years ago.
Hillman, a longtime minor league manager in the United States, managed the Pacific League's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for five seasons and led them to two Pacific League pennants. He is now returning to Asia as skipper of the SK Wyverns in the Korea Baseball Organization.
It will be the 53-year-old's first managerial job since running the American League's Kansas City Royals from 2008 to May 2010. Since then, he's worked for three organizations, twice as a major league bench coach. Famous for attention to detail and preparation, Hillman is throwing himself into his new task, where he will be the first man to manage in three of the world's elite baseball circuits.