Gary Trundleburry, Shin Seiki Post

01/01/2023: Nagoya, Japan

Long time Evas center fielder Shinsui Hoshino has once again been brought back in to the Shin Seiki fold. This time it is to be the Manager for the A level Marduk Nerv.

Hoshino coming back to the Evas’ system has been a relatively common occurrence over the past few season. He’s been acquired by the Evas just about every way imaginable over the years:

• 2010 – Traded by the Fushigi Yugi Celestial Warriors to the Evas.
• 2015 – Signed a 3 year $10.5M extension with SS.
• 2020 – Signed a Minor League Contract with the Evas
• 2022 – Claimed off of waivers from the London Underground.

Over the course of 9 different seasons in SS, he amassed quite a resume:

• 3 LRS All-Star appearances
• 4 LRS Gurabukin fielding awards (CF-2, RF-2)
• All-Time Evas leader board highlights:
  • 3rd in Game Appearances: 760
  • 3rd in AB: 2,540
  • 2nd in SB: 129
  • 4th in Total Bases: 1.109
  • 6th in Home Runs: 129
  • 6th among all hitters in WAR: 17.8 – Ahead of such other Evas notables as Ton Nakamura and Ryozo Takeuchi.

So he had himself a nice career in Eva blue. But that’s over with. What can he bring to the table now? Plenty according to the Evas’ GM:

“It’s hard for me to believe, but I have known Shinsui for thirteen years. When I first started in Shin Seiki, he was one of the top prospects in the LRS. Acquiring him was one of my most important moves of my first season in 2010.

Over the years, I have seen him become a consummate professional and a role model. He is a man whose opinion I value. More than that, he is a man whose judgement I trust implicitly. He will be a tremendous leader for our top young prospects. After all, he knows exactly what it means to be one of the top prospects in Japan.”

For this part, Hoshino was low key, but confident:

“I played in a number of places during my 15 year professional career. But Shin Seiki has always been my home. Over the decades, they showed me nothing support. To be the target of a big trade was flattering.  To know how much effort and how many resources to my development in Winter ball back in 2010 was humbling. I intend to instill every young player in Marduk with the lessons I learned there.”