I ain’t gonna lie – in my opinion, watching baseball is about as entertaining as sitting through an all-day Cop Rock marathon on TV Land. I’ve known people whose command of the statistics involved borders on OCD, and they swear that watching baseball is a riveting experience, but I’m not buyin’ it.
In any event, I was pleased to hear this morning that Japanese expat Hideki ‘Godzilla’ Matsui was crowned World Series MVP after leading the Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the Phillies, making him the first Japanese-born MVP in the history of the sport.
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.
“It’s awesome,” Matsui said through a translator. “Unbelievable. I’m surprised myself.”
Standing on a podium in shallow center field, Matsui waved his new championship hat and shook hands with commissioner Bud Selig. Matsui won three titles in Japan and was eager to celebrate his first in the Bronx.
“I guess it’s hard to make a comparison. When I was in Japan, that was the ultimate goal. Being here, winning the World Series, becoming world champions, that’s what you strive for here.”
“You could say that I guess this is the best moment of my life right now,” he said. “It’s been a long road and very difficult journey.”
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