TAMPA – In his third round of batting practice late yesterday afternoon, Hideki Matsui finally launched a ball over the rightfield fence. A few of the 60 or so Japanese reporters in attendance immediately called home to inform their offices of the “breaking news.” Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, working in the same group, toyed with the Japanese slang for first homer, “ichigo.”
Welcome to Yankee spring training camp in 2003, where even informal workouts are being covered like a Pentagon briefing.
“This is unbelievable,” Jeter said as he looked out at a media throng interested in his dissection of Matsui’s first batting practice session with teammates. “Are you guys coming every day? How do you say ‘every day’ in Japanese?”
Actually, if the question is how many Japanese media members will be coming to cover Matsui, the correct response is, ‘even more.’ This is what the Yankees bought along with Matsui for their three-year, $21 million investment. “It’s going to be a circus,” predicted Joe Torre. And now the tent has officially gone up.
Matsui arrived Monday night and got in a quick workout at the Yankee minor league complex long after other players had departed. But yesterday, he went through drills with others who had arrived early for spring training (position players have not been asked to report until Monday). When Matsui’s hitting group, which also included Alfonso Soriano, moved from the cages to get in some whacks on the field, a flock of Japanese reporters raced to record every nuance.
Matsui turned to his new teammates and told them that if this becomes a problem, they should inform him and he will address it. For now, the Yankees are being good-humored about what is – even for following this team – a large media group.
“I think it is more for him to have to deal with than us,” Posada said.
Not much should be read into these early sessions. Japanese spring training lasts two weeks longer, and hitters tend to work slowly in their programs. Ichiro Suzuki worried Mariners officials early in spring training of 2000 with his lazy swings. Yesterday, Matsui seemed to be working on hitting the ball to left field. He did not hit a homer until his 32nd swing. But as he began to pull the ball, his power became more obvious and he finished with six homers in his final 35 swings.
