Shinjo's latest trick? Pregame spin on a hovercraft

Tsuyoshi Shinjo knows how to make an entrance. This has been established. But the man known as “Big Boss” has literally taken his over-the-top entrance style to new heights.

Shinjo, the manager of Japan’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and a former Major Leaguer, announced his presence prior to his team's home opener Tuesday by getting on a hovercraft and taking flight inside the Sapporo Dome.

After about 35 seconds, Shinjo brought the vehicle down to the field. With a steely-eyed glare and surrounded by swelling, dramatic music befitting the climactic moment of an action movie, he dismounted the hovercraft, threw his jacket to the side and set off with purpose to win a baseball game.

Unfortunately, the Nippon-Ham Fighters lost to the Saitama Seibu Lions, 4-0, to fall to 0-4 on the season. But if Shinjo keeps making these types of entrances, we are all winners in some small way.

The Nippon Professional Baseball season is not even a week old, and Shinjo, who played for the Mets and Giants from 2001-03, has already become a viral sensation. One can only imagine what kinds of stunts he will dream up over the next five months.