NAGOYA — The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have hired a proven winner in Masataka Nashida to manage the team next year. That's good because the Trey Hillman era will be a tough act to follow.

Hillman's five-year run in Japanese baseball came to an end Thursday night with the Fighters' 1-0 loss to the Chunichi Dragons in Game 5 of the Japan Series at Nagoya Dome.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.