Hideki Irabu
In 2002, Hoshino was called to take over as manager of the Hanshin Tigers, who had been in last place for the last four years under Katsuya Nomura. He raised the team to fourth place in his first year, and made huge cuts during the off-season while recruiting free agents like Tomoaki Kanemoto and Hideki Irabu. The Tigers won the Central League championship in 2003; Hoshino's third pennant as manager. However, he frequently fell ill during games in 2003, often leaving the head coach to manage the team while he sat quietly on the bench. He stepped down after the 2003 Japanese championship series due to health reasons, allegedly due to high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia, but was the assistant senior director of the Hanshin Tigers until 2010. In 2007, he became the manager of the Japan national baseball team, which won the Asian Baseball Championship (the qualifier for the Beijing Olympics) defeating the Philippines, Korea, and Taiwan. However, the "Hoshino Japan" finished with a 4–5 record in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with no medals.