ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Inside a jammed auxiliary
clubhouse, some 50 Japanese media members and a large local press contingent
gathered Tuesday morning for the official introduction of the highest-profile
minor leaguer in Tampa Bay Rays history.
Hello, Hideki Matsui.
The iconic Japanese slugger and longtime fixture for the New York Yankees took
his seat on a platform beside a translator, fielding questions about the new
turn in his respected baseball career — one that has led him, after two weeks
of speculation, into the Tampa Bay fold.
For the 2009 World Series MVP with the Yankees, the road to the Rays will lead
through the farm system in the short term. Matsui agreed to a minor league deal
that will begin with the Class A Charlotte Stone Crabs and, when he and the
club feel he’s ready, jump to Triple-A Durham.
That’s just fine with Matsui, who says he intends to travel with the minor league
teams and live the life of a prospect with no preferred treatment.
“No, nothing special,” he said. “I’m going to be a minor leaguer.”
But don’t expect that stint to last too long, especially given the unfortunate
development for the Rays with team leader Evan Longoria.
The star third baseman and offensive force suffered a
“hamstring-knee” injury Monday night while attempting to steal second base
against the Mariners. With Longoria out for an extended amount of time, it
could make Matsui’s presence at the plate a far more pressing matter.
But for now, there’s no set timetable for the man who owns a career .285
batting average with 173 home runs, 753 RBI and 248 doubles in 1,202 major
league games over nine seasons. He did all that after hitting .304 with 332
home runs, 889 RBI and 245 doubles in 1,268 games in Japan.
“I think it’s something we’re going to monitor very closely,” executive vice
president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “With someone of
Hideki’s experience and caliber, we’ll rely a lot on him as well – him telling
us when he feels comfortable in the batter’s box as he gets going.
“I don’t think there’s any way to simulate facing live
pitching. So working toward that and getting as many at-bats — you see it every
spring. Guys near the end of spring feel like they’re always in a rush to get
ready for the season, but everyone operates differently.”
Matsui, who will turn 38 in June, stressed that he feels like he’s in excellent
physical shape and is excited about the opportunity to play baseball again. He
hit .255 for Oakland last season with 12 homers, batting .295 in the second
half of the season. But he’s been one of a handful of established designated
hitters to remain unsigned — until now.
"Fortunately, I've been given an opportunity to wear a major league
uniform again, so I'm just very thankful for the Rays,” Matsui said. “My focus
is just to work and hopefully get up to the majors as soon as possible."
His impression of his new team is highly favorable. But in the end, his
decision to sign with Tampa Bay was based in a simple fact: The club showed
more interest in his services than any other team.
"The Rays have been a very strong team, especially over the last several
years,” he said. “They've been to the playoffs as well. My impression is this
is an excellent team. As far as my decision is concerned, really the Rays have
been the team that really seriously made an offer, and I think that was the
main decision point for me."
Friedman acknowledged that the Rays have had interest in Matsui for a while.
“First of all, for the last couple of offseasons, we’ve talked to Hideki’s
representatives,” Friedman said. “We’ve always had a tremendous amount of
respect for him and what he does in the batter’s box, the type of person he is,
the type of teammate, the success that he’s enjoyed. So he’s always been
someone who’s been on our radar.”
More conversations took place this past offseason, but nothing materialized.
"As is often the case, things kind of go in different directions,”
Friedman said. “So when the dust settled and we had our roster set, and Hideki
was still going through the process, near the end of spring training we spoke
again. And we agreed to stay in touch at that point. It was something for us
that adding to not only the depth but when you have a chance to add a
championship-caliber player to your organization, it’s something that we’re
going to be aggressive to do.”
Adding yet another left-hander to the crew of hitters they already have — DHs
Luke Scott and Brandon Allen, along with such power bats as Carlos Pena and
Matt Joyce — was never a concern to Friedman or anyone in the organization.
“If you look back at our rosters over the years, we’ve had a lot of left-handed
hitters,” Friedman said. “It’s something we’re very comfortable with. You face
right-handed pitching 70 (to) 75 percent of the time. But beyond that, Hideki’s
also very good against left-handed pitching. So the fact that he hits
left-handed isn’t as important in that he handles both sides very well.”
While he waited for an offer to his liking, Matsui kept in shape over the past
few months.
"I was really focused on just staying in shape and getting ready — really
nothing else on my mind,” he said. “As far as the details of what kind of
practice I was doing, it was pretty much your regular, basic baseball training,
nothing in particular."
As for his minor league contract, the player who in Japan is larger than life
explained that he has no problem with accepting it.
"I think that really resembles where I'm at as far as myself as a baseball
player,” Matsui said.
For now, Matsui will be the most famous member of the Stone Crabs, and soon the
Durham Bulls. He said his contract contains no “out” clauses if the Rays don’t
promote him quickly enough or decide they don’t need him.
He embraces his new, if unfamiliar, role in the game, but he hopes to be
contributing in a meaningful way soon.
“As far as the expectations from the Rays,” he said, “it's to hopefully join
the team and be some kind of force for the team at the major league
level."
In any language, that’s music to the Rays’ ears.
