Hideki Matsui
Hideki Matsui
schon mal was gehört?! Ich hab gehört die Yankees sollen sehr an dem interessiert sein!?
There may be no"I" in team, but there are 2 in Schilling.
-
The G.O.A.T.
- Allstar
- Beiträge: 476
- Registriert: 15.11.2001, 01:00
- Wohnort: Hessen
- Kontaktdaten:
.
Baseball slugger "Godzilla" stuns Japan with US move
Friday, 01-Nov-2002 12:36PM Story from AFP / Hiroshi Hiyama
Copyright 2002 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOKYO, JAPAN: This September 14, 2002 picture shows Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui, nicknamed Godzilla, in action. Matsui, the highest-paid Japanese professional baseball player, declared himself a free agent November 1, 2002 and will try to play in the Major Leagues in the US. [Photo by Jiji Press, copyright 2002 by AFP and ClariNet]
TOKYO, Nov 1 (AFP) - The highest paid player in Japanese baseball, Hideki Matsui, a slugger nicknamed "Godzilla," said Friday he would be ditching his homeland to play in the United States, causing shockwaves felt at the top level of government and even on the stock market.
Matsui's decision to turn his back on Japan dominated the front pages of newspapers, drove some companies' shareprices down and led the government's spokesman to speculate whether the 28-year-old outfielder's departure would hurt the economy.
Matsui's decision to try his luck in US Major League Baseball after becoming a free agent follows the phenomenal success of seven-time Japanese batting champion Ichiro Suzuki with the Seattle Mariners.
Ichiro has taken America by storm, winning both American League rookie of the year and most valuable player awards.
Japanese media speculated that the New York Yankees were among several teams interested in signing Matsui.
"I, Hideki Matsui, will exercise my right as a free agent and I wish to play in the American Major League from the next season," he told a press conference.
The announcement came after repeated pleas from his coach and fans to stay with the Japanese champions, the Yomiuri Giants, who paid Matsui an estimated annual salary of 610 million yen (five million dollars).
"I agonised until the last moment," Matsui said.
"My desire to play over there has not diminished. I made the decision alone in the night of (October) 31," a day after he helped his team to their 20th Japan Series title, he said.
Matsui, who stands 186-centimetres (6-feet 1-inch) tall and weighs 95 kilograms (210 pounds), has notched up 332 homers, 889 RBIs and a .304 batting average during his 10-year career with the Giants, arguably Japan's most popular sports team.
Japanese baseball has increasingly been overshadowed by the performance of Japanese stars in the United States such as Ichiro, center fielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the San Francisco Giants and Dodgers pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii.
Pitcher Hideo Nomo, currently with the Los Angeles Dodgers, blazed the trail to the Major Leagues in 1995.
In a front page analysis the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper warned that the departure of such a popular player could be a hammer blow for the local game.
The immense popularity of the Giants means that the financial position of other teams depends on revenues from ticket sales and television rights to games with the Giants, the Mainichi said.
"The Giants' loss of such a huge star, Matsui, could impact not only the financial management of the Giants but also that of other teams," the paper said.
After hearing the news, the government's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said: "I am wondering if it might have an impact on the Japanese economy.
"It is sad to see that he is leaving the Japanese baseball stadiums. But I am extremely proud to see more and more Japanese players climbing up to the international stage."
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he wished Matsui success.
"I am looking forward to seeing how many homers a Japanese slugger, the home run king, could hit. I have high hopes," Koizumi told reporters.
Matsui's announcement was seen as contributing to falls in some Japanese share prices such as Nippon Television Network, the television arm of Yomiuri Group, which lost 2.6 percent while other stocks in the sector were up.
Shares in Tokyo Dome, the Giants' home stadium, also fell.
Friday, 01-Nov-2002 12:36PM Story from AFP / Hiroshi Hiyama
Copyright 2002 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOKYO, JAPAN: This September 14, 2002 picture shows Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui, nicknamed Godzilla, in action. Matsui, the highest-paid Japanese professional baseball player, declared himself a free agent November 1, 2002 and will try to play in the Major Leagues in the US. [Photo by Jiji Press, copyright 2002 by AFP and ClariNet]
TOKYO, Nov 1 (AFP) - The highest paid player in Japanese baseball, Hideki Matsui, a slugger nicknamed "Godzilla," said Friday he would be ditching his homeland to play in the United States, causing shockwaves felt at the top level of government and even on the stock market.
Matsui's decision to turn his back on Japan dominated the front pages of newspapers, drove some companies' shareprices down and led the government's spokesman to speculate whether the 28-year-old outfielder's departure would hurt the economy.
Matsui's decision to try his luck in US Major League Baseball after becoming a free agent follows the phenomenal success of seven-time Japanese batting champion Ichiro Suzuki with the Seattle Mariners.
Ichiro has taken America by storm, winning both American League rookie of the year and most valuable player awards.
Japanese media speculated that the New York Yankees were among several teams interested in signing Matsui.
"I, Hideki Matsui, will exercise my right as a free agent and I wish to play in the American Major League from the next season," he told a press conference.
The announcement came after repeated pleas from his coach and fans to stay with the Japanese champions, the Yomiuri Giants, who paid Matsui an estimated annual salary of 610 million yen (five million dollars).
"I agonised until the last moment," Matsui said.
"My desire to play over there has not diminished. I made the decision alone in the night of (October) 31," a day after he helped his team to their 20th Japan Series title, he said.
Matsui, who stands 186-centimetres (6-feet 1-inch) tall and weighs 95 kilograms (210 pounds), has notched up 332 homers, 889 RBIs and a .304 batting average during his 10-year career with the Giants, arguably Japan's most popular sports team.
Japanese baseball has increasingly been overshadowed by the performance of Japanese stars in the United States such as Ichiro, center fielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the San Francisco Giants and Dodgers pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii.
Pitcher Hideo Nomo, currently with the Los Angeles Dodgers, blazed the trail to the Major Leagues in 1995.
In a front page analysis the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper warned that the departure of such a popular player could be a hammer blow for the local game.
The immense popularity of the Giants means that the financial position of other teams depends on revenues from ticket sales and television rights to games with the Giants, the Mainichi said.
"The Giants' loss of such a huge star, Matsui, could impact not only the financial management of the Giants but also that of other teams," the paper said.
After hearing the news, the government's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said: "I am wondering if it might have an impact on the Japanese economy.
"It is sad to see that he is leaving the Japanese baseball stadiums. But I am extremely proud to see more and more Japanese players climbing up to the international stage."
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he wished Matsui success.
"I am looking forward to seeing how many homers a Japanese slugger, the home run king, could hit. I have high hopes," Koizumi told reporters.
Matsui's announcement was seen as contributing to falls in some Japanese share prices such as Nippon Television Network, the television arm of Yomiuri Group, which lost 2.6 percent while other stocks in the sector were up.
Shares in Tokyo Dome, the Giants' home stadium, also fell.
YG Hideki Matsui Bats/Throws: Left/Right
Height/Weight: 186 cm/95 kg
Birthday: 1974-06-12
Born: Ishikawa
Played at Koshien
Number 1 draft pick by the Yomiuri Giants in 1993.
Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR TB RBIs SB CS SacH SacF BB HBP K DP Avg Err
1993 YG 57 184 27 41 9 0 11 83 27 1 0 0 0 17 2 50 1 .223 1
1994 YG 130 503 70 148 23 4 20 239 66 6 3 1 4 57 4 101 12 .294 5
1995 YG 131 501 76 142 31 1 22 241 80 9 7 2 2 62 2 93 12 .283 3
1996 YG 130 487 97 153 34 1 38 303 99 7 2 0 7 71 4 98 5 .314 6
1997 YG 135 484 93 144 18 0 37 273 103 9 3 0 6 100 6 84 5 .298 7
1998 YG 135 487 103 142 24 3 34 274 100 3 5 0 4 104 8 101 7 .292 4
1999 YG 135 471 100 143 24 2 42 297 95 0 4 0 6 93 2 99 3 .304 1
2000 YG 135 474 116 150 32 1 42 310 108 5 2 0 7 106 2 108 1 .316 2
2001 YG 140 481 107 160 23 3 36 297 104 3 3 0 7 120 3 96 9 .333 6
Totals: 1128 4072 789 1223 218 15 282 2317 782 43 29 3 43 730 33 830 55 .300 35
Height/Weight: 186 cm/95 kg
Birthday: 1974-06-12
Born: Ishikawa
Played at Koshien
Number 1 draft pick by the Yomiuri Giants in 1993.
Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR TB RBIs SB CS SacH SacF BB HBP K DP Avg Err
1993 YG 57 184 27 41 9 0 11 83 27 1 0 0 0 17 2 50 1 .223 1
1994 YG 130 503 70 148 23 4 20 239 66 6 3 1 4 57 4 101 12 .294 5
1995 YG 131 501 76 142 31 1 22 241 80 9 7 2 2 62 2 93 12 .283 3
1996 YG 130 487 97 153 34 1 38 303 99 7 2 0 7 71 4 98 5 .314 6
1997 YG 135 484 93 144 18 0 37 273 103 9 3 0 6 100 6 84 5 .298 7
1998 YG 135 487 103 142 24 3 34 274 100 3 5 0 4 104 8 101 7 .292 4
1999 YG 135 471 100 143 24 2 42 297 95 0 4 0 6 93 2 99 3 .304 1
2000 YG 135 474 116 150 32 1 42 310 108 5 2 0 7 106 2 108 1 .316 2
2001 YG 140 481 107 160 23 3 36 297 104 3 3 0 7 120 3 96 9 .333 6
Totals: 1128 4072 789 1223 218 15 282 2317 782 43 29 3 43 730 33 830 55 .300 35
'Godzilla' on Way
Yankees are early favorite for Japanese superstar
By Ken Davidoff
STAFF WRITER
November 1, 2002
Godzilla is ready to take on the United States - and, in all likelihood, the Bronx.
Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui, Japan's biggest baseball star, is leaving his native country to play in the United States. The Yankees, having been burned by their lack of interest in Ichiro Suzuki two years ago, have so much interest in signing the lefthanded-hitting slugger and corner outfielder that they're expected to forgo their concerns about their large payroll in their pursuit of him.
Matsui held a news conference in Japan last night to announce his decision. "It was painful to tell my coaches, but my personal desire to go over there and play didn't go away," he said.
The announcement wrapped up a year of intrigue surrounding the star of the Giants, who won the Japan Series earlier this week.
Last winter, Matsui extended his contract with the Giants by just one year, fueling speculation he would follow the Mariners' Suzuki and former Met Tsuyoshi Shinjo (now with the Giants) as Japanese position players trying to succeed in the major leagues.
Unlike Suzuki, last year's American League MVP, and Shinjo, the 6-1, 209-pound Matsui hits for power. He received national attention during his high school career, and after a shaky start, he established himself as an offensive force.
In 2002, he set career highs with 50 homers and a .334 batting average and also drove in 107 runs as he played every inning of the Giants' 140 games.
Matsui can start negotiating with teams Nov. 12. The Yankees are ready to take another chance on a Japanese player even though they experienced highly publicized disappointments in their signing of pitchers Hideki Irabu to a four-year, $12.8-million deal in 1997 and Katsuhiro Maeda to a $1.5-million signing bonus in 1996.
Irabu pitched well in spurts but was generally a disappointment, earning infamy when George Steinbrenner called him a "toad" during spring training of 1999. The Yankees traded him to Montreal after the 1999 season. Maeda never pitched above the Double-A level.
When Suzuki became available after the 2000 season through a "posting" by his team, the Orix Blue Wave, the Yankees didn't even put in a bid. They were gun shy, baseball insiders agree, after Irabu and Maeda. Predictably, when Suzuki became a star, Steinbrenner became enraged at his talent evaluators.
The Yankees have been laying the groundwork for the recruitment of Matsui. Last offseason, they hired Jean Afterman as their assistant general manager. Afterman, who used to work for Irabu's agent, Don Nomura, has extensive connections in Japan.
Afterman has helped the Yankees negotiate a working agreement with the Giants; the Yankees' agreement with the Nippon Ham Fighters recently ran out. The Yankees would like their games to be broadcast in Japan, just as the Mariners' are now, and the Giants, Japan's "glamour" team, would like to show their games on the YES Network.
The Dodgers have enjoyed success with Japanese pitchers Hideo Nomo and Kazuhisa Ishii, and they need outfielders. But Matsui has an excellent relationship with the Yomiuri Giants, and he likely will follow their counsel.
Any revenue the Yankees receive from international broadcasts would be split among all 30 teams, but one-thirtieth of that pot still would be significant, and the Yankees believe Matsui would bring with him a Japanese fan base and perhaps even advertising from Japanese companies.
In short, the Yankees believe that Matsui, who probably would get more than Ichiro's three-year, $14-million package, would pay for himself.
Matsui also would bolster their lineup, if the scouting reports are correct. He appears most suited to play leftfield, where Rondell White struggled in 2002. The Yankees will try to trade both White, who will earn $5 million in 2003, and rightfielder Raul Mondesi, whom they will owe $7 million next year if he stays in pinstripes. White, very popular among his teammates and well liked by manager Joe Torre, could stick around as an outfielder/DH if the Yankees deal Nick Johnson for a young starting pitcher.
Some Yankees front-office members and players have spoken as though Matsui's arrival is a foregone conclusion. The conclusion is approaching.
Yankees are early favorite for Japanese superstar
By Ken Davidoff
STAFF WRITER
November 1, 2002
Godzilla is ready to take on the United States - and, in all likelihood, the Bronx.
Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui, Japan's biggest baseball star, is leaving his native country to play in the United States. The Yankees, having been burned by their lack of interest in Ichiro Suzuki two years ago, have so much interest in signing the lefthanded-hitting slugger and corner outfielder that they're expected to forgo their concerns about their large payroll in their pursuit of him.
Matsui held a news conference in Japan last night to announce his decision. "It was painful to tell my coaches, but my personal desire to go over there and play didn't go away," he said.
The announcement wrapped up a year of intrigue surrounding the star of the Giants, who won the Japan Series earlier this week.
Last winter, Matsui extended his contract with the Giants by just one year, fueling speculation he would follow the Mariners' Suzuki and former Met Tsuyoshi Shinjo (now with the Giants) as Japanese position players trying to succeed in the major leagues.
Unlike Suzuki, last year's American League MVP, and Shinjo, the 6-1, 209-pound Matsui hits for power. He received national attention during his high school career, and after a shaky start, he established himself as an offensive force.
In 2002, he set career highs with 50 homers and a .334 batting average and also drove in 107 runs as he played every inning of the Giants' 140 games.
Matsui can start negotiating with teams Nov. 12. The Yankees are ready to take another chance on a Japanese player even though they experienced highly publicized disappointments in their signing of pitchers Hideki Irabu to a four-year, $12.8-million deal in 1997 and Katsuhiro Maeda to a $1.5-million signing bonus in 1996.
Irabu pitched well in spurts but was generally a disappointment, earning infamy when George Steinbrenner called him a "toad" during spring training of 1999. The Yankees traded him to Montreal after the 1999 season. Maeda never pitched above the Double-A level.
When Suzuki became available after the 2000 season through a "posting" by his team, the Orix Blue Wave, the Yankees didn't even put in a bid. They were gun shy, baseball insiders agree, after Irabu and Maeda. Predictably, when Suzuki became a star, Steinbrenner became enraged at his talent evaluators.
The Yankees have been laying the groundwork for the recruitment of Matsui. Last offseason, they hired Jean Afterman as their assistant general manager. Afterman, who used to work for Irabu's agent, Don Nomura, has extensive connections in Japan.
Afterman has helped the Yankees negotiate a working agreement with the Giants; the Yankees' agreement with the Nippon Ham Fighters recently ran out. The Yankees would like their games to be broadcast in Japan, just as the Mariners' are now, and the Giants, Japan's "glamour" team, would like to show their games on the YES Network.
The Dodgers have enjoyed success with Japanese pitchers Hideo Nomo and Kazuhisa Ishii, and they need outfielders. But Matsui has an excellent relationship with the Yomiuri Giants, and he likely will follow their counsel.
Any revenue the Yankees receive from international broadcasts would be split among all 30 teams, but one-thirtieth of that pot still would be significant, and the Yankees believe Matsui would bring with him a Japanese fan base and perhaps even advertising from Japanese companies.
In short, the Yankees believe that Matsui, who probably would get more than Ichiro's three-year, $14-million package, would pay for himself.
Matsui also would bolster their lineup, if the scouting reports are correct. He appears most suited to play leftfield, where Rondell White struggled in 2002. The Yankees will try to trade both White, who will earn $5 million in 2003, and rightfielder Raul Mondesi, whom they will owe $7 million next year if he stays in pinstripes. White, very popular among his teammates and well liked by manager Joe Torre, could stick around as an outfielder/DH if the Yankees deal Nick Johnson for a young starting pitcher.
Some Yankees front-office members and players have spoken as though Matsui's arrival is a foregone conclusion. The conclusion is approaching.
Mariners
Going, going...Godzilla?
By Bob Finnigan
Seattle Times staff reporter
TUCSON — With a handful of their premier players, such as Ichiro and Kazu Sasaki, having shown that the Pacific Ocean can be crossed successfully, Japanese baseball may be losing another of its monster stars.
Godzilla.
Hideki Matsui, the seven-time Japan League All-Star and two-time MVP whose power and prowess have earned him the nickname of the kitschy Japanese film dragon, could be posted and come to play in the United States next season.
And his hitting, a lightning bat that produced 42-homer seasons in 1999 and 2000 as well as 1,223 hits and 782 runs batted in in 1,128 career games, is not the only mega-factor in the potential move.
Godzilla Matsui is the right fielder of the Tokyo Giants, often called the Yomiuri Giants.
"If he came over, it would have tremendous impact on Japanese baseball," said Ted Heid, the Mariners' superscout for the Pacific Rim. "It would be like Derek Jeter leaving the New York Yankees, the best-known player on the U.S.'s best-known team."
Yomiuri is Japan's legendary team, the team made famous by Tetsuharu Kawakami, Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima, that nation's DiMaggio, Gehrig and Ruth.
Deepening the intrigue, Giants owner Tsuneo Watanabe — who also owns the Yomiuri Shimbun, the world's largest newspaper at 10 million daily circulation — is said to feel threatened by U.S. encroachment into the Japanese game, now at a dozen players.
Pitchers, led by Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu, started the eastward shift. Last year, Ichiro proved pure hitters could thrive here.
"Major League Baseball is spreading the net wider and wider," a National League scout said. "It's only natural that a country with a baseball history like Japan would be a big source. Most teams over there realize they can't stop the inevitable. If they get the chance, their players want to play here, even if it means less money."
An AL scout said, "Yomiuri losing Matsui would be a full roundhouse punch to Japanese baseball. But the Japanese people don't feel the same way. If Matsui left Yomiuri, they'd love it."
Matsui could bring another facet, a power hitter trying to translate success in Japan into similar production here.
"Some power hitters can't react to all pitches," Ichiro said. "(Matsui) can."
Ichiro, who knows hitting better than most, was referring to Matsui's renowned bat speed, so good that when he was in high school before being the first player taken in the 1992 draft, he was said to have better bat speed than any of Japan's pro players.
Mariners reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa faced Matsui "only a few times in Japan," but he applied a pitcher's perspective.
"It is tough to say how he will do here since no Japanese power hitter has ever come over before," he said. "I think he can, since a good hitter there should maybe be a good hitter here. It depends on adjustments.
"Any Japanese hitter coming over here needs to make adjustments. Ichiro's success last year was based on the adjustments he made. If Matsui comes and does not make the necessary changes, he won't be a success. Obviously baseball here is at a higher level."
Hasegawa noted also that the baseball itself is different here. "The seams are higher, so the ball won't carry as far."
If Matsui adjusts, however, that might not affect him. The four homers he hit in last year's Japan Series all went farther than 450 feet.
In addition, in the words of an NL scout, Matsui has the advantage of getting his power "from his technique, not only from his strength."
"I think he'll be successful because as a power hitter he's not a muscle guy," the scout said. "He reminds me of Jim Edmonds."
Hasegawa agreed.
"I remember him as a technique hitter, and that will help him here. But he has to have brains to come here and use his technique. If you have technique and are not smart about it, you won't be successful. It would be fun to see Matsui come here."
Kazuhisa Ishii, a Japanese pitcher in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, would not predict Matsui's chances for success here, citing his own newness to U.S. baseball.
"I usually don't care how another player might be doing," Ishii said, "but I want to know how a Japanese slugger will do in major-league baseball. I only hope he thinks carefully about his decision."
Scouts say Matsui's stance is a bit unorthodox, upright. He can hit the ball out to every field, even when fooled, and his phenomenal bat speed allows him to wait on the breaking ball and hit that out, too.
He reportedly has a good arm but is only average in the field and on the basepaths.
There is constant talk that the Yomiuri company, with great influence in the country, might ask the government for assistance to dissuade Matsui from exporting his talents, as the Brazilian government once named soccer great Pele a national resource.
Watanabe reportedly is enticing Matsui to stay with a unique offer to the outfielder: "Sign for as many years as you want for as much as you want." Risky as that might seem by U.S. standards, Yomiuri may safely assume the player would not take outrageous advantage.
Said Heid, "Matsui is a stoic kid, with great character and a great family. He is not only deeply religious but generous and very close to his family."
The Mariners are thought to have a strong interest in Matsui, with their close connections to Japan and their success at following them up through the work of Heid and former scout Jim Colborn, now Los Angeles pitching coach and a key player in the Dodgers' acquisition of Ishii.
If Matsui moves, the competition could be fierce, with at least two of U.S. baseball's heavy-hitting franchises involved.
With Yankees owner George Steinbrenner known to have berated his scouts last year for not getting Ichiro, count New York in, big-time.
Atlanta recently had a half-dozen team officials and scouts at an exhibition game in Sapporo, where Matsui hit two homers, giving him four for the spring.
Matsui has kept his options open by refusing a five-year, $35 million contract that would have made him the highest-paid player in the history of Japanese baseball. He signed to play the 2002 season at $6 million, slightly more than Ichiro's best-paid year with Orix. He can be a free agent after the season.
"I want to go to an East Coast team where there's some pressure to perform," Matsui told Japanese writers.
However, he reportedly also has talked of going to a contender and/or West Coast club if that team "can help me develop further as a player."
"There would be great pressure on Matsui to perform if he came over," said a scout. "First, he would be expected to succeed as Ichiro did; then, he's coming from Yomiuri. There would be more pressure on him than there was on Ichiro, and those expectations were unbelievable."
Going, going...Godzilla?
By Bob Finnigan
Seattle Times staff reporter
TUCSON — With a handful of their premier players, such as Ichiro and Kazu Sasaki, having shown that the Pacific Ocean can be crossed successfully, Japanese baseball may be losing another of its monster stars.
Godzilla.
Hideki Matsui, the seven-time Japan League All-Star and two-time MVP whose power and prowess have earned him the nickname of the kitschy Japanese film dragon, could be posted and come to play in the United States next season.
And his hitting, a lightning bat that produced 42-homer seasons in 1999 and 2000 as well as 1,223 hits and 782 runs batted in in 1,128 career games, is not the only mega-factor in the potential move.
Godzilla Matsui is the right fielder of the Tokyo Giants, often called the Yomiuri Giants.
"If he came over, it would have tremendous impact on Japanese baseball," said Ted Heid, the Mariners' superscout for the Pacific Rim. "It would be like Derek Jeter leaving the New York Yankees, the best-known player on the U.S.'s best-known team."
Yomiuri is Japan's legendary team, the team made famous by Tetsuharu Kawakami, Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima, that nation's DiMaggio, Gehrig and Ruth.
Deepening the intrigue, Giants owner Tsuneo Watanabe — who also owns the Yomiuri Shimbun, the world's largest newspaper at 10 million daily circulation — is said to feel threatened by U.S. encroachment into the Japanese game, now at a dozen players.
Pitchers, led by Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu, started the eastward shift. Last year, Ichiro proved pure hitters could thrive here.
"Major League Baseball is spreading the net wider and wider," a National League scout said. "It's only natural that a country with a baseball history like Japan would be a big source. Most teams over there realize they can't stop the inevitable. If they get the chance, their players want to play here, even if it means less money."
An AL scout said, "Yomiuri losing Matsui would be a full roundhouse punch to Japanese baseball. But the Japanese people don't feel the same way. If Matsui left Yomiuri, they'd love it."
Matsui could bring another facet, a power hitter trying to translate success in Japan into similar production here.
"Some power hitters can't react to all pitches," Ichiro said. "(Matsui) can."
Ichiro, who knows hitting better than most, was referring to Matsui's renowned bat speed, so good that when he was in high school before being the first player taken in the 1992 draft, he was said to have better bat speed than any of Japan's pro players.
Mariners reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa faced Matsui "only a few times in Japan," but he applied a pitcher's perspective.
"It is tough to say how he will do here since no Japanese power hitter has ever come over before," he said. "I think he can, since a good hitter there should maybe be a good hitter here. It depends on adjustments.
"Any Japanese hitter coming over here needs to make adjustments. Ichiro's success last year was based on the adjustments he made. If Matsui comes and does not make the necessary changes, he won't be a success. Obviously baseball here is at a higher level."
Hasegawa noted also that the baseball itself is different here. "The seams are higher, so the ball won't carry as far."
If Matsui adjusts, however, that might not affect him. The four homers he hit in last year's Japan Series all went farther than 450 feet.
In addition, in the words of an NL scout, Matsui has the advantage of getting his power "from his technique, not only from his strength."
"I think he'll be successful because as a power hitter he's not a muscle guy," the scout said. "He reminds me of Jim Edmonds."
Hasegawa agreed.
"I remember him as a technique hitter, and that will help him here. But he has to have brains to come here and use his technique. If you have technique and are not smart about it, you won't be successful. It would be fun to see Matsui come here."
Kazuhisa Ishii, a Japanese pitcher in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, would not predict Matsui's chances for success here, citing his own newness to U.S. baseball.
"I usually don't care how another player might be doing," Ishii said, "but I want to know how a Japanese slugger will do in major-league baseball. I only hope he thinks carefully about his decision."
Scouts say Matsui's stance is a bit unorthodox, upright. He can hit the ball out to every field, even when fooled, and his phenomenal bat speed allows him to wait on the breaking ball and hit that out, too.
He reportedly has a good arm but is only average in the field and on the basepaths.
There is constant talk that the Yomiuri company, with great influence in the country, might ask the government for assistance to dissuade Matsui from exporting his talents, as the Brazilian government once named soccer great Pele a national resource.
Watanabe reportedly is enticing Matsui to stay with a unique offer to the outfielder: "Sign for as many years as you want for as much as you want." Risky as that might seem by U.S. standards, Yomiuri may safely assume the player would not take outrageous advantage.
Said Heid, "Matsui is a stoic kid, with great character and a great family. He is not only deeply religious but generous and very close to his family."
The Mariners are thought to have a strong interest in Matsui, with their close connections to Japan and their success at following them up through the work of Heid and former scout Jim Colborn, now Los Angeles pitching coach and a key player in the Dodgers' acquisition of Ishii.
If Matsui moves, the competition could be fierce, with at least two of U.S. baseball's heavy-hitting franchises involved.
With Yankees owner George Steinbrenner known to have berated his scouts last year for not getting Ichiro, count New York in, big-time.
Atlanta recently had a half-dozen team officials and scouts at an exhibition game in Sapporo, where Matsui hit two homers, giving him four for the spring.
Matsui has kept his options open by refusing a five-year, $35 million contract that would have made him the highest-paid player in the history of Japanese baseball. He signed to play the 2002 season at $6 million, slightly more than Ichiro's best-paid year with Orix. He can be a free agent after the season.
"I want to go to an East Coast team where there's some pressure to perform," Matsui told Japanese writers.
However, he reportedly also has talked of going to a contender and/or West Coast club if that team "can help me develop further as a player."
"There would be great pressure on Matsui to perform if he came over," said a scout. "First, he would be expected to succeed as Ichiro did; then, he's coming from Yomiuri. There would be more pressure on him than there was on Ichiro, and those expectations were unbelievable."
BIG IN JAPAN
Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui
When a group of Major League Baseball's All-Stars come to Japan this month to play a group of home-grown All-Stars, some American pitchers may be taken aback by the prospect of pitching to Godzilla. Fortunately for the American hurlers, this Godzilla is not the giant reptile best known for trashing Tokyo on numerous occasions, but rather Yomiuri Giants' center fielder Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui.
Where this nickname comes from is a mystery. Not of gargantuan proportions at 186 centimeters and 95 kilograms, the affable, often-smiling Matsui does not fit the demeanor of the fire-breathing, rampaging reptilian either.
"It's hard not to like Matsui," baseball writer Dan Latham says in an item on his baseball website. "A very amiable character, I have yet to hear anyone with a bad thing to say about him."
Michiyo Ishida, another Tokyo sportswriter, offers this theory: "Since his high school days, he was known for his explosive home runs."
Central League pitchers on opposing teams might side more with Ishida when Matsui steps into the batter's box, with his nothing-but-business death stare punctuated with an occasional shoulder twitch.
Matsui was drafted by the Giants in 1993, even though he had hoped to play for the Giants' arch-rival, the Hanshin Tigers. He had an adequate rookie year in 1995, hitting 22 home runs while maintaining a .282 batting average.
The following year, Matsui was instrumental in getting the Giants to the Japan Series - his .314 batting average and 38 home runs contributed greatly to the Giants' success and earned him the Central League's Most Valuable Player award in 1996.
His numbers during the Giants' disastrous 1997 season were still the stuff of which All-Stars are made: a .297 batting average with 103 RBIs (runs batted in) and 37 home runs, one short of the home run title captured by the Yakult Swallows' Dwayne Hosey. His ever-improving hitting coupled with his durability - he has never missed a game in his pro career - make him the most feared Giants hitter, even with Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Yoshinobu Takahashi hitting behind him in the Giants batting order.
In 1998, Matsui's 34 round-trippers finally earned him the home run title and his 100 RBIs were also the best in the Central League. While his .292 batting average fell far short of this year's batting title, it may be only a matter of time before Matsui earns the triple crown (highest batting average, most home runs and most RBIs by the same player in a season).
As for a matter of Time - the news magazine in this case - an article in the March 24, 1997 edition, "Plenty More After Nomo," concluded with what could be a prophetic statement: "Japanese fans are fearful that... maybe even a non-pitcher like Hideki Matsui, power hitter from the Tokyo Giants, will be next" to play in the majors.
It could happen. If one Godzilla can trash New York, as one did this past summer in theatres across America, what's to stop another left-handed hitting Godzilla wearing number 55 from trashing Major League pitching?
Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui
When a group of Major League Baseball's All-Stars come to Japan this month to play a group of home-grown All-Stars, some American pitchers may be taken aback by the prospect of pitching to Godzilla. Fortunately for the American hurlers, this Godzilla is not the giant reptile best known for trashing Tokyo on numerous occasions, but rather Yomiuri Giants' center fielder Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui.
Where this nickname comes from is a mystery. Not of gargantuan proportions at 186 centimeters and 95 kilograms, the affable, often-smiling Matsui does not fit the demeanor of the fire-breathing, rampaging reptilian either.
"It's hard not to like Matsui," baseball writer Dan Latham says in an item on his baseball website. "A very amiable character, I have yet to hear anyone with a bad thing to say about him."
Michiyo Ishida, another Tokyo sportswriter, offers this theory: "Since his high school days, he was known for his explosive home runs."
Central League pitchers on opposing teams might side more with Ishida when Matsui steps into the batter's box, with his nothing-but-business death stare punctuated with an occasional shoulder twitch.
Matsui was drafted by the Giants in 1993, even though he had hoped to play for the Giants' arch-rival, the Hanshin Tigers. He had an adequate rookie year in 1995, hitting 22 home runs while maintaining a .282 batting average.
The following year, Matsui was instrumental in getting the Giants to the Japan Series - his .314 batting average and 38 home runs contributed greatly to the Giants' success and earned him the Central League's Most Valuable Player award in 1996.
His numbers during the Giants' disastrous 1997 season were still the stuff of which All-Stars are made: a .297 batting average with 103 RBIs (runs batted in) and 37 home runs, one short of the home run title captured by the Yakult Swallows' Dwayne Hosey. His ever-improving hitting coupled with his durability - he has never missed a game in his pro career - make him the most feared Giants hitter, even with Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Yoshinobu Takahashi hitting behind him in the Giants batting order.
In 1998, Matsui's 34 round-trippers finally earned him the home run title and his 100 RBIs were also the best in the Central League. While his .292 batting average fell far short of this year's batting title, it may be only a matter of time before Matsui earns the triple crown (highest batting average, most home runs and most RBIs by the same player in a season).
As for a matter of Time - the news magazine in this case - an article in the March 24, 1997 edition, "Plenty More After Nomo," concluded with what could be a prophetic statement: "Japanese fans are fearful that... maybe even a non-pitcher like Hideki Matsui, power hitter from the Tokyo Giants, will be next" to play in the majors.
It could happen. If one Godzilla can trash New York, as one did this past summer in theatres across America, what's to stop another left-handed hitting Godzilla wearing number 55 from trashing Major League pitching?