This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
I'm a huge fan of Japanese players in MLB. Hideki Matsui looks like a very promising star in MLB, but I have one concern. For instance, when Hideki Irabu joined the Yankees, he looked like he will have a very solid major league career until he became good friends with David Wells. Wells taught Irabu to drink beer excessively and eat tons of 700-calorie burgers. This is how Irabu became fat and lazy.
Same sort of thing will happen to Matsui when he becomes good friends with Jason Giambi. Giambi is a real party-animal. He will probably keep Matsui awake late at night partying with all the strippers in New York and on the road. He will also influence Matsui to take steroids if he starts to struggle.
The "wild" American lifestyle does not suit the "conservative" Japanese lifestyle. What's your take on this and how well do you predict Hideki Matsui will do in his first year playing for the N.Y. Yankees?
Thanks for your time.