Matsui's heroics join Asian golden age in U.S. sports

“He has been a remarkable player,” Cashman said. “When he came over from Japan, he ended with a championship. I'm glad he has got one with us too now.”

Matsui wants to stay with the Yankees, saying, “I hope it works out in the end. I love New York.”

While bad knees have limited Matsui to a designated hitter role rather than an outfielder spot, the Yankees are in somewhat of a tough situation when it comes to Matsui.

How do the Yankees, with baseball's biggest payroll at 201 million U.S. dollars, allow the Most Valuable Player from their first World Series triumph since 2000 to leave and sign elsewhere?

Imagine how powerful Japan's Classic squad might have been with Matsui onboard. Now imagine how popular he might be with Japanese clubs much less other U.S. major league clubs.

Matsui, who wears uniform number 55 in tribute to legend Sadaharu Oh's one-season Japan League record of 55 homers, smacked 50 homers in 2002 for the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants before making the jump to North America.

“This is what I came over here for,” Matsui said through a translator. “Winning the championship means everything to me.”

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