trey hillman

Trey Hillman attended the University of Texas at Arlington where he was a standout baseball player and was named to the UTA Athletic Hall of Honor in 1992.

In 1985, Hillman hit .113/~.286/.161 as a middle infielder for the Batavia Trojans. He hit .107/~.375/.143 for the Waterloo Indians in 28 AB and .222/~.349/.250 in 108 AB for the Waterbury Indians in 1986. With the Kinston Indians in 1987 he hit .172/~.280/.201 in 174 AB while continuing to show an excellent eye.

After his playing career, Hillman spent 13 years in the New York Yankees organization primarily as a manager at every level and won three Manager of the Year awards and guided his teams to three first-place finishes. In 2002, Hillman was named Director of Player Development for the Texas Rangers. The following year, Trey signed a two-year contract to be the manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese professional baseball's Pacific League. He guided the club to its first Japan Series title ever in 2006. He was interviewed for the position as 2007 manager of the Oakland Athletics but remained with Nippon Ham and guided them to the best record in the PL. Hillman said he would not return to Japan for 2008 and there was speculation he was being considered for the New York Yankees job.
Trey Hillman has been in professional baseball for over 20 years. Trey is considered by many as one of the classiest and most qualified baseball people in the business. Trey is an alumnus of the University of Texas at Arlington where he was a stand-out baseball player and was named to the UTA Athletic Hall of Honor in 1992. Trey spent 13 years in the New York Yankees organization primarily as a manager at every level and won three Manager of the Year awards and guided his teams to three first-place finishes. In 2002, Trey was named Director of Player Development for the Texas Rangers. The following year, Trey signed a two-year contract to be the manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese professional baseball's Pacific League and is still currently their manager. Trey works out regularly, consistently running 3 to 5 miles per day at least 4 days per week in addition to maintenance weight training. KANSAS CITY -- Tr
ey Hillman, a manager in Japan for the last five seasons, is reported by ESPN.com to be a candidate as the next Royals manager.
Buster Olney, in a story late Thursday night, wrote that Hillman "is in serious negotiations" with the Royals. No source was given for the report.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore could not be reached for comment. Moore has conducted a low-profile search for a new manager, preferring to keep the candidates a private matter.

Earlier Thursday, Moore declined to get into specifics about the search for a successor to Buddy Bell.

"I think we're going to get the guy we want," Moore said. "I feel good about it."

Hillman's name is new to Royals speculation, although there were rumors that he might be considered as a replacement for the Yankees' Joe Torre. Hillman spent 13 years in the Yankees' farm system, 12 as a manager.

He previously had been interviewed for the managerial jobs with the Texas Rangers and Oakland A's, according to Olney.

Hillman, 44, was director of player development for the Rangers in 2002, then became the Ham Fighters' manager and won the Japan Series title in 2006. After five years, he decided not to return to Japan for 2008.

A product of the University of Texas-Arlington, Hillman was signed by the Cleveland Indians and played three seasons in the Minors before becoming a scout. Then he joined the Yankees' organization as a coach and became a manager.