Hideki Matsui......Hittin cleanup? MVP candidate?

[Frances The Mute]

Matsui batted cleanup in 23 games last year (87 ab). In those 87 ab he hit:

-18 runs
-6 hr
-17 rbi
-.345 avg
-.436 OBP
-.621 SLG
-.1.06 OPS

Extrapolating those 87 at bats into 584 ab looks like this:

-121 runs
-40 hr
-114 rbi
-.345 avg
-.436 OBP
-.621 SLG
-.1.06 OPS

Obviously, I would curb my expectations a bit, and maybe i dont know enough about baseball to explain why his avg and stats are so high when batting 4th. But like you know....those are encouraging numbers should he cleanup all year.

[Tokugawa]

Matsui is going to have a big year. He has a tremendous work ethic and has continued to work hard adapting to the different pitches he sees in the US. A batting average over .300 and HR total of almost 40 is a major possibility.

As far as using the word Jap goes, it is no more racist than referring to a citizen of the US as a Yank or citizen of the UK as a Brit. Whether these words are racist depends on the context in which they are used, which in this case wasn't offensive. I think it's pathetic how over sensitive some of you are, perhaps the usage was careless but by no means racist. Oversensitivity towards race is as much racisim as carelessness, if not more!!!

[Kingctb27]

He'll be good, but not MVP good. Vlad plays in the same league as Matsui...

Yeah, so does Manny

[NZF]

Also, Matsui’s durability is grossly underrated. He’s a great pick because he has a consecutive game playing streak that goes back several seasons in Japan. I’m not sure of the exact numbers but his MLB streak alone puts him among the active MLB leaders.

Does anyone have the grand total (Japan & US)?

Not me but I agree he should be bumped up cheat sheets for his durability.

I believe he is 3rd at the moment behind Tejada and Pierre for consecutive games. In fact he officially played 163 games in 2003 which takes some doing over a 162 game season.

[Conner]

Also, Matsui’s durability is grossly underrated. He’s a great pick because he has a consecutive game playing streak that goes back several seasons in Japan. I’m not sure of the exact numbers but his MLB streak alone puts him among the active MLB leaders.

Does anyone have the grand total (Japan & US)?

Not me but I agree he should be bumped up cheat sheets for his durability.

I believe he is 3rd at the moment behind Tejada and Pierre for consecutive games. In fact he officially played 163 games in 2003 which takes some doing over a 162 game season.

I have no idea who else has long streaks in the majors, but as has been pointed out...if you consider his days in Japan (which there's no reason not to)...I've got to assume he blows everyone else away.

[NZF]

Tejada is currently well over 700 consecutive. Maybe very close to 800. He's miles ahead of anyone else in the majors.

Pierre is around 350 at the moment. Hideki is at 325 not counting Japan.

From memory, Terrence Long had over 400 during his time in Oakland and A-Rod might have been close to 500 at one point in Texas.

[Conner]

Tejada is currently well over 700 consecutive. Maybe very close to 800. He's miles ahead of anyone else in the majors.

Wow...I knew he was first by a good amount, but I had no idea it was by that much...



Counting Japan, Matsui is well over 1,000, though....


Either way...When you get that high, it doesn't really matter. Both should be considered extremely durable....Nice to have in a head-to-head league, for sure.

[justinA]

Oh no he said jap, crucify him. Let me guess, jew is going to be derogatory next because it is short for Jewish person. Riiiiight.

And yes, Matsui will be solid, so he's got a good chance to be in the top 3 of the MVP voting.

[Conner]

Oh no he said jap, crucify him. Let me guess, jew is going to be derogatory next because it is short for Jewish person. Riiiiight.

Can't we just drop it?






He didn't mean it to be derogatory.....That's all that matters.

[Conner]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3494828

Asked to name the teammate that is impressing him most this spring, Yankees RHP Mike Mussina selects LF Hideki Matsui.

"He looks better and better every month he plays," Mussina says. "Last year, he looked much better. And so far this year, he looks really good."