Associated Press
NEW YORK ó Hideki Matsui has the most curious habit at the plate. He never takes a practice swing once he steps into the batter’s box.
He saves all those meaty cuts for when he needs them.
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 Wednesday night.
His performance won Game 6 ó and clinched the MVP trophy.
Matsui became the first Japanese-born player to win the award that started in 1955. He homered, doubled and singled, highlighting a Series in which he hit .615 with three home runs and eight RBIs.
His 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 ó 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.
Watching Game 6 on TV in Tokyo, Masanori Murakami echoed that sentiment. He was the first Japanese player in the majors, in 1964 with San Francisco, and fully appreciated the magnitude of Matsui’s honor.
“Ichiro Suzuki has had many accomplishments, but they’ve all been in the regular season. As the first Japanese to win an MVP in the World Series, this is a great accomplishment for Matsui and will have a huge impact,” Murakami said.
“New York is a tough place to play, so this is a great achievement for him given all he has been through with injuries and missing time,” he said.
An outfielder by trade, Matsui hasn’t played the field since June 15, 2008, because of bad knees.
Now strictly a DH and pinch-hitter because of bad knees, Matsui accomplished so much in so little time. His 13 at-bats tied Baltimore’s Rick Dempsey in 1983 for the fewest by a Series MVP (nonpitchers only, naturally), according to STATS.
Matsui became the 11th Yankees player to win the award, joining teammates Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, along with the likes of Reggie Jackson and Whitey Ford.
At 35, Matsui’s greatest achievement might’ve come in his last game in pinstripes.
Matsui hit a grand slam in his first game at old Yankee Stadium in 2003, and this year wrapped up his $52 million, four-year contract.
It remains to see what the aging Yankees will do with Matsui. Whatever happens, he certainly left his mark.
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AP Sports Writer Jim Armstrong in Tokyo contributed to this report.