The Batmen Now Among the Elite
August 29, 2003
One works far from the national spotlight in the Pacific Northwest, slapping the ball and using his legs to get on base at an astonishingly high rate. The other is a more traditional slugger who plies his trade in the “House that Ruth Built” within the heart of the media capitol of the world. But Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui, respectively, share something in common besides their Japanese heritage.
Both players have shattered the prediction that Japanese hitters would wilt under the pressure of big league pitching.
Instead of bowing to the Barry Zito’s and Pedro Martinez’s of the baseball world, both players have thrived, doing for Asian-born hitters what Hideo Nomo did for APA pitchers.
Ichiro — now in his third season of roaming right field for the Seattle Mariners — led the American League with a .333 batting average and 180 hits. On the other coast, Matsui has become the toast of Yankee Stadium.
Matsui, the Japanese home run king who signed a multi-million dollar contract to play left field for the New York Yankees last winter, is the front runner for the American League Rookie of the Year honors. As of last Monday, Matsui was batting .290 with 15 home runs and 90 runs batted in — tying for 9th best in the junior circuit.
Now 29, Ichiro has become an American baseball mainstay. His .335 lifetime average ranks among the game’s elite through history. But even Ichiro proved he is human when he ended the 2002 season batting some 70 points off his lifetime pace during the last two months of the season. While he still ended the season batting .321, scouting reports started swirling that pitchers had finally found a hole in Ichiro’s swing.
When Ichiro got off to a tough start this season — batting .243 through April — opposing managers started jumping for joy.
But if Ichiro was feeling any inner feelings of frustration during his slump he behaved exactly as he did when he was at his hottest. He rarely showed any emotion.
“The only time I saw him get upset with himself was one game in April. And that was when he made a base running mistake. He said all along that he thought his hitting would be fine and it looks like he was right. He’s on pace for 220 hits,” said John Hickey, who has covered Ichiro for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer since the super star’s arrival in 2001. “He’s swinging a little more selectively. He says there’s nothing he’s changed. It may be a simple case of him swinging at strikes and laying off balls. He’s gotten back to what he does best.”
Meanwhile in New York, Matsui, who arrived in the Big Apple amid much hoopla, has also hit his stride. After winning the hearts of Yankee fans with a grand slam on opening day at Yankee Stadium, Matsui hit a rough patch. On June 1, Matsui was hitting around .250.
But the pressure of underperforming under the ever watchful eye of the New York media and notoriously taciturn Yankees owner George Steinbrenner never got to him.
If anyone knows how to succeed in a pressure cooker, it’s Matsui. Nicknamed “Godzilla” in Japan where he is a outrageously popular icon, for many seasons Matsui produced superstar numbers for the Yankees of Japan — the Yomiuri Giants who play their home games in the 70,000 capacity Tokyo Dome.
“In a way the move to New York is kind of a respite for Matsui,” said New York Yankees television broadcaster Michael Kay. “He didn’t exactly come from a small town. He came from Tokyo. He’s a god there, he’s not a god in New York yet, so I think he’s taken a step down in terms of visibility. Matsui is one of the few people in the world who can go to New York and get a break from the scrutiny.”
Ichiro and Matsui have two vastly different personalities. Ichiro likes to stay incognito behind a scruffy beard, wraparound shades and cap pulled down low, as if that would stop him from being recognized. He shies away from interviews with both the American and traveling Japanese media.
Though Matsui has yet to master English he is much more open to publicity. He is often seen in the dugout without his cap on, highlighting a big mop of black hair parted down the middle and handsome movie star features. Matsui recently accepted a copy of AsianWeek featuring the Yankee slugger on the cover with a hearty handshake and a warm smile.
New York is a perfect setting for Matsui to launch his superstar machine stateside. And because he doesn’t rub his fame in his teammates’ faces, he’s become a clubhouse favorite.
“There is not one guy on this team that resents Matsui,” Kay said. “He doesn’t flaunt his popularity and worldwide he’s more popular than anybody. He doesn’t put a distance between himself or anybody. He is one of the guys and doesn’t hold himself above anybody else. I’ve been totally impressed by him.”
Just as the Big City is Matsui’s kind of place, the wilds of the Pacific Northwest are a perfect setting for Ichiro to blend into.
“He’s made it an absolute point to try to learn English, while [pitcher] Kaz Sasaki has been pretty laissez faire about it,” Hickey said. “But while he’s made attempts to be more Americanized in a lot of ways he’s still the same guy he ever was.”
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