Matsui Throws Ceremonial Pitch for Giants Mentor, Hopes Younger Players Will Inherit Nagashima’s Love for Fans

By Mami Hamaguchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

16:44 JST, August 17, 2025

Standing on the mound for a ceremonial pitch on Saturday, baseball great Hideki Matsui gently raised the ball in his right hand upward. “Manager, I’m going to throw,” he said in his heart to Shigeo Nagashima, the late lifetime honorary manager of the Yomiuri Giants.

Seeing Sadaharu Oh and Tatsunori Hara standing in the batter’s boxes on both sides, Matsui smiled wryly. “For the first time in a long time, I was nervous,” he said later.

After throwing a powerful pitch, Matsui waved his hand upward again.

Matsui and Nagashima had a deep bond. It was Nagashima who won the lottery to secure the negotiating rights for Matsui at the 1992 draft meeting, and he built him into a slugger through one-on-one guidance. The day after Nagashima died, Matsui returned from his base in the United States and said a private goodbye.

Reflecting on the ceremonial pitch, which was watched by many fans, Matsui said, “Nagashima’s heart was always with the fans, so I think he’s happy, too.”

He hopes that younger baseball players will inherit Nagashima’s love for the fans, and the love he received from them.

“Today’s players haven’t experienced Nagashima’s playing or managerial career, so I hope this opportunity will give them a sense of how significant he was,” Matsui said.

Matsui nearly hit Nagashima with the ball when he made the ceremonial first pitch after the People’s Honor Award ceremony in May 2013, but on this day, it went near the strike zone. “I was relieved. Maybe the manager was watching over me,” he said.

It was also a special day for Matsui, who had fulfilled an important role.