DoolittleBrothers

Scuttlebutt around the Web is that the Royals are going to hire Trey Hillman as their manager at some point today.

My feelings about Hillman? Geez, who the hell knows? As Commander Data might put it, I am neither happy nor sad at this occurence. I have no feelings at all.

We can only judge big-league managers who have managed in the big leagues. That’s not to say that I think the Royals should have gone with a recycled skipper. Someone has to give the next Joe McCarthy his first job and who’s to say that’s not Hillman? I’m just glad he’s not named Baker or Girardi.

Terry Collins was the other candidate whose name surfaced over the last couple of days and if that’s accurate, it marks the second time that Collins has served as the bridesmaid in a Royals’ managerial search in the last half-decade. When I constructed my managerial rating system (WAMMERS) two or three years back, it identified Collins as the most-viable candidate who’d managed in the big leagues and was at the time unemployed.

But I don’t know if my system was really worth a damn so take that for what it’s worth. I do know that Collins has a reputation as a task master and as an idealist myself, I tend to like those types to be in charge on my teams.

While I don’t really have any specific opinion about Hillman, there are some speculative points that I might as well float out there:

* This link from the Baptist Standard reveals that Hillman is a pretty religious fellow. Back when the Rangers were looking to replace Jerry Narron after the 2002 season, then-GM John Hart had a strong interest in Hillman, who’d already entered a verbal agreement to manage in Japan. After mulling it over, Hillman decided to keep his agreement:

“I could honor the agreement with the Japanese or stay here and work with my hometown team, which had always been my dream,” Hillman said. “But it came down to believing in my heart that God wouldn’t have allowed the Rangers to permit me to talk with the Japanese had it not been a part of his timing. I believe God has a reason for his timing.”

To me, that’s complete and utter gibberish. What does this mean in baseball terms? Nothing. What it does mean is that Hillman and I won’t be hitting any strip clubs together any time soon. Which is too bad.

Dayton Moore is very big on identifying “character” in all those he brings into the KC organization. That doesn’t mean that he’s necessarily trying to create baseball’s version of the Christian Coalition. But as Moore is pretty religious himself, it goes to follow that religious beliefs would be a strong element in his assessment of person’s “character”.

But more than anything, Moore is a very smart baseball man and it’s exceedingly likelty that Hillman’s faith played little more than a subconscious role in Moore’s general comfort level with him.

On the field, none of this has any relevance. It just means that, for me personally, it makes the team a little more annoying to follow. Overtly religious people make me nervous.

* Hillman has been very successful in his managerial career in the Yankees’ system and in Japan. In 2006, he led the Nippon Ham Fighters (why fight ham?) to their first-ever title. He won three Manager of the Year awards in the minors.

* As a longtime manager in the Yankees’ system, I suppose it means that he might have assimilated some of their organizational philosophies and I don’t mean the one that mandates a $200 million payroll. What those philosophies might be, I don’t really know.

* Hiring Hillman might give the Royals some inroads to the Asian talent pool from which I can only recall Mac Suzuki ending up in KC. Presumably, a successful manager like Hillman will have some pretty solid relationships over there. Of particular interest is a 21-year-old righty of Iranian/Japanese descent named Yu Darvish. Of him, Hillman has been quoted as saying, “”I think he can be the best in the world, I think eventually he has an opportunity to bypass a guy like Matsuzaka.”

Of course, Boston fans might tell you that really isn’t saying much.

* I am very happy that Moore’s choice has never been affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. This fact once and for all assuages my concern that Moore was a little too comfortable dealing with his former employers.

* The fact that the Yankees, if they had been able to get their shit together, might have targeted Hillman is pretty sweet. Have fun with Girardi or Mattingly, you long-suffering Yankee fans.

In the end, it’s yet another new chapter in Royals history. And with each new beginning, there is hope. For me, on a beautiful fall afternoon, that is all I really need to be content.

Update

By the time I finished writing this, I got the press release from the Royals making it official. The introductory press conference is Monday. Perhaps I’ll attend and try to slip at least one stats-related question in there. As far as a lengthy Q&A goes, I’ll probably take a pass on that.
A couple of generic press release quotes:

From Dayton Moore:

“I am delighted to announce that we have hired Trey Hillman as our manager,” said Dayton Moore, Senior Vice President and General Manager. “He is an exceptional person with a great passion to lead. He is the perfect choice for our organization.

“Trey has spent the last five seasons turning the Nippon Ham Fighters into one of the top success stories in Japanese baseball, including three trips to the post-season,” Moore added. “In fact, the reason we are unable to introduce Trey today is because his club has just advanced to the finals of the Japan Series, where they will resume play on October 27. We also want to respect the fact that the Indians and Red Sox are in a battle for the American League title and we don’t want to do anything to detract from the excitement of that series.”

From the new skipper:

“This is a wonderful blessing and a great opportunity to build a winner in Kansas City,” said Hillman. “I’ll be joining an organization with tradition and pride while working with individuals that share my vision for success.”

Some exciting stuff there.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 10:51 am and is filed under Royals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.