Hideki Matsui, The World Series MVP
Thursday, November 5, 2009 by: JM
Hideki Matsui has the unusual habit at the plate. He never takes a practice swing once he steps into the batter's box rather he saves it for a real hit.
Hideki Matsui of Philadelphia Phillies drove in six runs in a World Series this Wednesday in what may turn out to be the grandest of exits from the New York Yankees.
Matsui did all sorts of damage Wednesday night, setting a record with six RBIs in a World Series clincher and leading the New York Yankees over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3.
His performance won Game 6 – and clinched the MVP trophy.
TRIVIA:
He's the first Japanese to be named Most Valuable Player of the World Series, batting .615 (8-for-13) with three home runs and eight runs batted in.
"It's awesome," Matsui said through a translator. "Unbelievable. I'm surprised myself."
Standing on a podium in shallow center field, Matsui waved his new championship hat and shook hands with commissioner Bud Selig. Matsui won three titles in Japan and was eager to celebrate his first in the Bronx.
"I guess it's hard to make a comparison. When I was in Japan, that was the ultimate goal. Being here, winning the World Series, becoming world champions, that's what you strive for here."
"You could say that I guess this is the best moment of my life right now," he said. "It's been a long road and very difficult journey."
Matsui's two-run drive off Pedro Martinez in the second inning put the Yankees ahead for good. Nicknamed "Godzilla" back home, Matsui sent a shot to right field that banged off an advertisement on the facing of the second deck – fittingly, it was a sign for the Japanese company Komatsu, which makes mining and construction equipment.
Matsui added a two-run single in the third and lined a two-run double off the right-center field wall in the fifth. The giant videoboard in center field showed fans holding Japanese signs and while the sellout crowd roared, he stood placidly at second base.
Fans cheered when Matsui's feat, matching Bobby Richardson's 1960 mark for RBIs in any Series game, was posted on the scoreboard. No one, however, had ever delivered such a bounty in the game that wrapped up a championship.
Matsui drew a standing ovation when he came to bat in the seventh, and chants of "MVP! MVP!" bounced around the ballpark.
"He hit everything we threw up there," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/05/hideki-matsui-world-serie_n_346447.html&cp"It's awesome," Matsui said through a translator. "Unbelievable. I'm surprised myself."
Standing on a podium in shallow center field, Matsui waved his new championship hat and shook hands with commissioner Bud Selig. Matsui won three titles in Japan and was eager to celebrate his first in the Bronx.
"I guess it's hard to make a comparison. When I was in Japan, that was the ultimate goal. Being here, winning the World Series, becoming world champions, that's what you strive for here."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/05/hideki-matsui-world-serie_n_346447.html&cp"It's awesome," Matsui said through a translator. "Unbelievable. I'm surprised myself."
Standing on a podium in shallow center field, Matsui waved his new championship hat and shook hands with commissioner Bud Selig. Matsui won three titles in Japan and was eager to celebrate his first in the Bronx.
"I guess it's hard to make a comparison. When I was in Japan, that was the ultimate goal. Being here, winning the World Series, becoming world champions, that's what you strive for here."
In behalf of Matsui's fans, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
