Hideki Matsui went 1/2 this afternoon in his spring debut with the Angels. He strike out on his first at bat against Chris Young then bouncing a single up the middle against Radhames Liz in his second at-bat.
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After leaving the game, Matsui worked out for awhile then met with the media — the handful of American reporters first, the much larger group of 30 or more Japanese reporters next. He handles the constant media attention with ease.
“It’s just part of being a professional baseball player,” Matsui said through his interpreter. “That’s the way I was taught.”
As our interview session with Matsui wound down, I asked him what the Japanese reporters might ask him that we hadn’t thought of.
“Maybe what color my underwear is,” he said with deadpan humor that translated well.
So, not wanting to be scooped, I asked — what color was it today? Matsui played out the joke, pulling the waistline of his pants out slightly and peering down.
But it turns out, he wasn’t totally joking.
One of the Japanese reporters told me that Matsui had worn red underwear in the Yankee clubhouse once. Another reporter spotted this and it became part of the story he filed that day.
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