Word: matsui
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Matsui hit from the right side exclusively until the advanced age of 21. "The problem was I couldn't hit right-handed pitchers," he says. "A coach told me if I went 2 for 20 left-handed, I'd have the same batting average. So I practiced...
...hits equally well from the right or left side. He homered from both sides of the plate in a November 2002 game against a traveling major league All-Star team. He hit .440 for the seven-game series and outshone teammate Hideki Matsui, who-confounded by two-seam, sinking fastballs-batted a mere .138. "While Big Matsui was flailing away," Whiting says, "Little Matsui was ripping major league pitching apart...
...Matsui, of course, left Japan last fall after clubbing 332 home runs in 10 seasons and finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Little Matsui could have gone over then too, but passed. The Japanese papers claimed his wife didn't want to move. "That is absolutely untrue," protests Matsui. "Only I can change my mind...
...Athens Olympics qualifying tournament in Sapporo, he wavered on whether to go to the majors or stay in Japan and play in the 2004 Summer Games. A teammate who had participated in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 nearly sold him on staying. "He said nothing in baseball compared," Matsui says. "It was a tough, tough decision...
...Matsui turned down offers from Seibu and the Yomiuri Giants, both rumored to be three-year deals in the $27 million range. "I may have to accept less money in the U.S.," he says, "but it's important for me to see how much I can improve as a player...