Senichi Hoshino, the former skipper of the Hanshin Tigers, has formally received an offer to become manager of Japan's national baseball team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, baseball sources said Thursday.
Hoshino is set to be officially appointed as manager next Thursday by a committee of amateur and professional baseball officials.
Hanshin owner Tsuneaki Miyazaki said Hoshino contacted him Thursday to say he had received the offer. Hoshino will be responsible for selecting the players and coaching staff to form the strongest possible team for Beijing.
"Hoshino Japan" will follow the legacy of "Nagashima Japan" in 2004 and "Oh Japan" at last year's World Baseball Classic.
Kiro Osafune, chief of the selection committee for the national baseball team representing the amateur side, unofficially offered Hoshino the manager's job in December, but there was a backlash from pro baseball's 12 teams, as they had not yet given the green light to consider Hoshino.