‘Unstoppable Matsui Goes Wild on the Field’

Hiroko Tabuchi, reporting from Tokyo:

For this baseball-loving nation, Matsui’s performance at the World Series on Wednesday — hitting a home run, tying a World Series record with six runs batted in and being named the most valuable player — sent a clear message. It put a Japanese player and the Japanese game on the American baseball map more firmly than any compatriot’s performance did.

Sure hope the Yanks re-sign him for next season’s repeat.

★ Thursday, 5 November 2009