Reporting To World Audience; Matsuzaka Joins Red Sox' Camp

He emerged from the home dugout at City of Palms Park, ascendedsome steps and sat down at a table, whereupon a switch was flippedand a video image was beamed via satellite uplink to four televisionstations on the other side of the world, and several more on thisside. It was a shade before 7 a.m. Friday in Japan -- 5 p.m.Thursday here -- and whether over breakfast or amid the chaos ofthe evening commute, millions of the curious and the fanatical cametogether to witness Daisuke Matsuzaka's birth into the loving armsof Red Sox World.

In a 35-minute news conference on the eve of his first springtraining camp with the Boston Red Sox, Matsuzaka -- the talented26-year-old pitcher whose arrival on these shores has electrifiedfans on both sides of the globe -- giggled and grimaced andphilosophized, revealing a personality that sparkled despite thelanguage barrier and the formal setting.

"I would like to throw a fastball," he said, through aninterpreter, when asked what his first pitch in a Red Sox uniformwould be. And then, the punch line: "And I would like my firstbatter, if he is listening, to please not hit the ball."

The Red Sox spent $103.1 million this winter to put Matsuzaka intheir uniform -- more than half of it going to the Seibu Lions,the Japanese team that owned his rights -- and his news conferenceThursday drew a media contingent that approached 200, both Japaneseand American. Nine satellite trucks squatted in the parking lot, and16 television cameras framed his image in front of a banner bearingthe logo of Funai, a Japanese electronics company.

Matsuzaka expertly toed the line between confidence ("I feelresponsible a little bit," he said in response to a question abouthis contract, "but I am not pressured") and humility ("I am a rookiehere in the major leagues, so I will stay humble," he said),weighing many of his answers carefully, as if aware they would bedissected in two languages.

When asked about the potential distraction to his teammates fromthe large Japanese media horde that will be a constant presencearound him, he said it should be up to team officials to address theissue in the clubhouse. But he added, "If I see somebody beingdisturbed or bothered because of the media, I would honestlyapologize to them."

Matsuzaka has been taking intensive English lessons sincearriving in the United States last month -- while, meantime, RedSox catcher Jason Varitek, pitching coach John Farrell and otherofficials are studying Japanese -- and in one notable instance hisface betrayed an acute understanding of the singular atmosphere intowhich he has entered. When an American questioner mentioned the word"Yankees," a sly smile crept across Matsuzaka's face.

"I haven't heard anything about it" from friends or teammates, hesaid in response to the question about the experience of facing theYankees in the Bronx. "But I am looking forward to it."

The Red Sox have gone to extraordinary lengths both toaccommodate Matsuzaka and to maximize the marketing potential of hispresence. His personal staff includes an interpreter, a masseuse, apublic relations agent, a trainer and an English instructor.Meantime, according to the Boston Globe, team executives now carrybusiness cards printed in English on one side and Japanese on theother.

"He captures the imagination of a market that doesn't know him,but that can see his smile," said Charles Steinberg, the Red Sox'executive vice president of public affairs, who noted the teamalready has sold 2.3 million tickets, 100,000 ahead of last year'space. "There is an enthusiasm he is creating."

A top strategic-development executive from Funai, KoshiroHashimoto, was also on hand for Thursday's unveiling of Matsuzaka,and afterward he was beaming about the marketing impact.

"The news conference was on four channels [of live television],with Funai behind him on the screen," Hashimoto said. "What more isthere to say?"

However, unlike New York Yankees star Hideki Matsui, the mostrecent Japanese star to come to the major leagues, Matsuzakamaintains some distance between himself and the media. While Matsuijokes with Japanese reporters about his romantic exploits,Matsuzaka, in the few days he has been in Fort Myers, has notacknowledged the media at all, and on Thursday he rarely met thegaze of his questioners when the questions came from the Japanesemedia.

The final question of the news conference, however, was from anAmerican reporter, and it was one Matsuzaka said he had beenexpecting. It concerned his purported mastery of a mysterious (andpossibly mythical) pitch known as the gyroball, a popular subject ofInternet chat rooms and barstool debates since its disputedexistence came to light.

"How should I answer?" he mused. He then detailed some of theoptions available to him, such as acting as if he had no idea what a"gyroball" is. Finally, he said, "Overall, if I had the chance, Iwould pitch that ball."

And so, for whatever reason -- whether the language barrier, orthe distance Matsuzaka keeps, or his simple reluctance to give awayany of his secrets -- the answer to that question, and others, wasunclear. But he will climb atop a mound soon, and the answers willcome, and more barriers will be broken, and the baseball world willbecome a little smaller.