Wolf Hopper
04-19-2003, 01:48 PM
Smart move by his part!
Keep your friends close...............
More players should do this, it might help!
Matsui shows savvy with N.Y. media
By Mike Berardino
April 11, 2003
FORT LAUDERDALE–At first they assumed the new guy had to be joking.
A superstar ballplayer inviting a bunch of ink-stained hacks out to dinner? Sure, and maybe Halle Berry could swing by for dessert.
Soon, however, they realized the invitation was completely serious. Talk about your basic shock-and-awe campaign.
So it was that eight members of the hard-bitten New York baseball media wound up dining one recent evening at Donatello, a local Italian restaurant. The focal point of the table was the greatest Japanese power hitter since Sadaharu Oh, a man so ferocious with a bat in his hands he carries the nickname "Godzilla."
Of course, you’d never know that from watching Hideki Matsui.
He treated his guests with respect. He treated them to a two-hour, multicourse dinner. Through an interpreter, he peppered them with questions about their jobs and lives and families and impressions of American life.
The evening was off the record, so nothing Matsui said or did made news. But, oh, what an impression the man made.
Turns out Matsui, 28, had done the same thing at various times in Japan, where he spent the past 10 years playing for the Yomiuri Giants. Isao Hirooka attended the session with the New York writers in his new role as a Yankees media advisor.
"He wanted to know their faces and names if they were coming up to him to talk," says Hirooka, 37, who spent 10 years as a Giants beat writer. "He wanted to know what is the difference between Japanese and U.S. media."
Learning The Ropes
Ask Matsui about his dinner with the writers and he beams.
"It was great," he says through a club-assigned interpreter. "Everything went well. It was great to be able to converse with all the beat writers in an environment outside baseball."
Whether the left fielder will still feel that way about his friends in the New York press after his first 2-for-25 slump is another matter. But there’s no denying the lengths to which Matsui has gone to fit in.
He made a quick impression on one of the first days of camp when he slowly made his way around the clubhouse, interpreter in tow, shaking hands and introducing himself to each of his new teammates.
"I just wanted to make sure I met everybody personally and have them know my name and face," Matsui explains.
Avoiding Hideki History
You think the Yankees gave Matsui a three-year, $21 million contract just because of his 332 career home runs and three MVP awards in the Japanese Central League? You think, after living through that nightmare with their first Hideki (Irabu), they didn’t do their homework?
Sure, after losing out on Ichiro, George Steinbrenner was hounding his baseball people to grab the next big thing out of the Far East. But it was Matsui’s class and grace, at least as much as his smooth lefthanded stroke and discerning batting eye, that attracted his new employer.
"Quality guy, high character, consummate team player," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says. "From what I hear he has a sense of humor and very little ego."
Cashman admits there were "a lot of concerns" about the Japanese media horde that follows Matsui’s every step, but even there Matsui’s sense of decency has prevailed. Media briefings typically take place outside the clubhouse, so as not to disturb his teammates or the New York writers.
"He’s made this thing very easy for us," Cashman says.
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada says life with Matsui has gone "perfect" so far, noting the new guy is "smiling all the time." Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, who got to know Matsui during previous trips to Japan with a U.S. all-star team, calls him "a great person . . . a great teammate."
Matsui’s a big fan of Japanese comedian Takeski Kitano, who doubles as a movie producer, and frequently leaves his national media in stitches during their daily briefings.
"It would be great if I could say an American joke but I think that will take quite a bit of time," Matsui says. "I’ve always had a sense of humor since I was a kid. I’ve always had fun. I like to have fun."
Take his answer when asked whether his experiences with Steinbrenner have matched his preconceptions.
"When I was in Japan, I only read about him in the newspapers," Matsui says. "I don’t 100 percent believe all that is written in the newspapers."
He grins. What’s a little jab between dinner companions?
Keep your friends close...............
More players should do this, it might help!
Matsui shows savvy with N.Y. media
By Mike Berardino
April 11, 2003
FORT LAUDERDALE–At first they assumed the new guy had to be joking.
A superstar ballplayer inviting a bunch of ink-stained hacks out to dinner? Sure, and maybe Halle Berry could swing by for dessert.
Soon, however, they realized the invitation was completely serious. Talk about your basic shock-and-awe campaign.
So it was that eight members of the hard-bitten New York baseball media wound up dining one recent evening at Donatello, a local Italian restaurant. The focal point of the table was the greatest Japanese power hitter since Sadaharu Oh, a man so ferocious with a bat in his hands he carries the nickname "Godzilla."
Of course, you’d never know that from watching Hideki Matsui.
He treated his guests with respect. He treated them to a two-hour, multicourse dinner. Through an interpreter, he peppered them with questions about their jobs and lives and families and impressions of American life.
The evening was off the record, so nothing Matsui said or did made news. But, oh, what an impression the man made.
Turns out Matsui, 28, had done the same thing at various times in Japan, where he spent the past 10 years playing for the Yomiuri Giants. Isao Hirooka attended the session with the New York writers in his new role as a Yankees media advisor.
"He wanted to know their faces and names if they were coming up to him to talk," says Hirooka, 37, who spent 10 years as a Giants beat writer. "He wanted to know what is the difference between Japanese and U.S. media."
Learning The Ropes
Ask Matsui about his dinner with the writers and he beams.
"It was great," he says through a club-assigned interpreter. "Everything went well. It was great to be able to converse with all the beat writers in an environment outside baseball."
Whether the left fielder will still feel that way about his friends in the New York press after his first 2-for-25 slump is another matter. But there’s no denying the lengths to which Matsui has gone to fit in.
He made a quick impression on one of the first days of camp when he slowly made his way around the clubhouse, interpreter in tow, shaking hands and introducing himself to each of his new teammates.
"I just wanted to make sure I met everybody personally and have them know my name and face," Matsui explains.
Avoiding Hideki History
You think the Yankees gave Matsui a three-year, $21 million contract just because of his 332 career home runs and three MVP awards in the Japanese Central League? You think, after living through that nightmare with their first Hideki (Irabu), they didn’t do their homework?
Sure, after losing out on Ichiro, George Steinbrenner was hounding his baseball people to grab the next big thing out of the Far East. But it was Matsui’s class and grace, at least as much as his smooth lefthanded stroke and discerning batting eye, that attracted his new employer.
"Quality guy, high character, consummate team player," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says. "From what I hear he has a sense of humor and very little ego."
Cashman admits there were "a lot of concerns" about the Japanese media horde that follows Matsui’s every step, but even there Matsui’s sense of decency has prevailed. Media briefings typically take place outside the clubhouse, so as not to disturb his teammates or the New York writers.
"He’s made this thing very easy for us," Cashman says.
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada says life with Matsui has gone "perfect" so far, noting the new guy is "smiling all the time." Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, who got to know Matsui during previous trips to Japan with a U.S. all-star team, calls him "a great person . . . a great teammate."
Matsui’s a big fan of Japanese comedian Takeski Kitano, who doubles as a movie producer, and frequently leaves his national media in stitches during their daily briefings.
"It would be great if I could say an American joke but I think that will take quite a bit of time," Matsui says. "I’ve always had a sense of humor since I was a kid. I’ve always had fun. I like to have fun."
Take his answer when asked whether his experiences with Steinbrenner have matched his preconceptions.
"When I was in Japan, I only read about him in the newspapers," Matsui says. "I don’t 100 percent believe all that is written in the newspapers."
He grins. What’s a little jab between dinner companions?