Rakuten hires Brown

Marty Brown, who spent four seasons with the Hiroshima Carp before being let go this past season, was announced the new skipper of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Monday.

Brown, 46, was 256-302 with Hiroshima and becomes the franchise's third manager, taking over a successful team that will be in its sixth season next year.

Brown, who failed to draw the Carp out of the deep end of the Central League, replaces heralded manager Katsuya Nomura. The 74-year-old Nomura was not offered a deal for next season after guiding the Eagles to their first postseason appearance.

Rakuten, which finished second in the Pacific League and advanced to Stage 2 of the Climax Series, said Brown will arrive in Japan next week and run the team's fall practice.