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The story
Former Giants player Kiyoshi Nakahata’s remark on TV Asahi’s “Shinichi Hatori Morning Show” — telling new Giants manager Hideki Matsui, “If you’re coming back to the field, let me help out too!” — has become a hot topic on 5ch. Nakahata and Matsui have known each other since Matsui’s playing days, and the thread shared anecdotes backing up their mentor-student relationship, including stories about special batting sessions at Nakahata’s house. Opinions split over whether to take the remark as “classic Nakahata humor” or as “an old-guard OB who can’t resist butting in,” with some pointing out that whether you find it funny or not depends a lot on your generation.
Kiyoshi Nakahata to New Giants Manager Hideki Matsui: “If You’re Coming Back to the Field, Let Me Help Out Too” – Entertainment: Nikkan Sports
October 26, 2026, 12:06 PM
Former Giants player Kiyoshi Nakahata (72) appeared on TV Asahi’s “Shinichi Hatori Morning Show” (weekdays, 8 AM) on the 26th, where he had a request for Hideki Matsui, newly installed as Giants manager.
Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here
What people said
You don't even need to watch that — any normal person could tell just from the one-line thread title.
I don't even know who counts as a 'normal person' anymore.
These days jumping to complain about everything is the norm, so wouldn't it actually be the minority who'd take it that way?
That's going too far — it's not that serious.
What are you even saying, in this era of total cynicism?
A Tokyo Sports (Tosupo) reporter.
Wait… Nakahata, cheerful?
You, thinking this isn't a joke, are pretty messed up too.
The Tigers have it even worse, media included, so Fujikawa shut all of that out completely. The question is whether Matsui can pull off the same.
Apparently Nakahata's wife took a big liking to Matsui too — she'd cook him a feast after every practice, and Matsui reportedly looked forward to eating her home cooking.
After Mrs. Nakahata passed away, Nakahata — then manager of the Yokohama BayStars — asked Matsui to come coach the team's young players on a temporary basis.
Matsui told reporters at the time: "I never really owed Mr. Nakahata anything, but his wife took great care of me when I was young. Today I was able to repay that debt."
That's a great story. No wonder he's close with Nakahata.
Koji Yamamoto is probably quite a bit older than Nakahata. On top of that, he apparently had major cancer surgery recently — and about a year or two after that, in a YouTube appearance, when asked "Would you take the job if the Carp asked you to manage again?" he immediately said yes, which was surprising.
Right after major surgery, I figured there was no way the Carp would actually ask him to manage.
(The above was right around the time of the 'zombie' Carp fuss — he might turn it down now, lol.)
Surprised Nakahata didn't let this slip sooner — I always figured he was the loose-lipped type.
Nah, he did let it slip, as usual — it was even reported in an article.
There might be a hint here about how old men should carry themselves.
Maybe being socially strong and able to let yourself look like a fool — that cheerful extrovert type — really is the strongest move in the end.
Young people today genuinely don't find this kind of thing funny at all.
That's true. Having charm instead of a scowl scores him points. And the fact that not a single player or fan actually respects Nakahata is itself part of why he feels so approachable.
It's Watanabe ('Nabetsune'), surely.
Still, a lot of the time a joke or a bit of sarcasm just doesn't land because the person saying it isn't expressing it well. You often see people claim 'it's scary that someone can't tell sarcasm is sarcasm,' but blaming the listener that hard is its own kind of scary. As for Matsui and Nakahata's exchange, if you know their relationship, you can tell it's a joke.
Maybe Matsui's best quality is that he doesn't care about any of that at all. Nakahata's basically half like one of his underlings anyway.
You could call him the original Yasutaro Matsuki (the excitable ex-footballer-turned-commentator famous for his over-the-top calls).
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Kiyoshi Nakahata is a former Yokohama (Taiyo) player and manager who currently holds a position roughly equivalent to chairman of the Giants’ OB (alumni) association. During his playing days, Hideki Matsui used to visit Nakahata’s home for special batting practice, and the thread also shared reminiscences about Nakahata’s late wife. This “let me help” remark is being read as a lighthearted jab rooted in that mentor-student history, and coverage of the appearance also noted that Matsui responded by promising, “I will definitely return to the field.” Where the thread split was over whether to take the remark as “classic Nakahata humor” or, taken at face value, as “an old-guard OB imposing himself.” Nakahata is a Showa-era TV personality known for self-deprecating jokes and comic bits, which can easily read as plain meddling to viewers unfamiliar with his usual shtick. At the same time, some commenters noted that “younger generations don’t find this kind of joke funny at all,” making the generational gap in how it’s received a central thread of the discussion.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisuto Sokuho+) thread “[TV] Kiyoshi Nakahata to New Giants Manager Hideki Matsui: “If You’re Coming Back to the Field, Let Me Help Out Too”.”
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