Congratulations to the Yankees for winning the World Series. Japan is extremely proud that their own Hideki Matsui played such a spectacular role in the victory, writing himself into baseball history in the process. Matsui has been a popular player even in high school — Japan takes its high school baseball seriously — and he won headlines when all the teams that played against him in the Koshien Championship intentionally walked him because they feared what he would do if given the chance to hit. After being picked first in the draft by the Tokyo Giants, he had a great career here before fulfilling his dream and going to the Big Leagues in the U.S. One thing I like about Matsui is the way he’s so humble and reserved, which is considered a very positive trait for a person here in Japan, something that can’t really be said of all the players from Japan. Tokyo Giants fans had one heck of a week: not only did they get to watch Godzilla do well in the U.S., but their team defeated the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan Series two days later.
Congratulations to the New York Yankees and Hideki Matsui.
