2005-05-29 04:00:00 PDT Miami-- As Kazuo Matsui pondered how he had gone from an international iron man to a training-room regular in one year, he bowed his head and scanned the floor in front of his ...

That's Kazuo Matsui-a.k.a. "Little Matsui"-no relation to the Yankees' Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui, other than their shared Japanese superstardom. Kazuo (please don't call him Kaz) is the switch-hitter ...

Here’s a trade deficit that the WTO can’t fix. Every year, it seems, Japan sends its best baseball player to America’s major leagues while the U.S. ships back geriatric has-beens and misfits. This ...

In the classic samurai film Yojimbo, rival factions bid for the services of a mercenary who has wandered into town. To which side will this mysterious swordsman give his allegiance? Kazuo Matsui is ...

NEW YORK—Though he now plays for the New York Mets, Kazuo Matsui is one of the most popular baseball players in Japan and the Mass Mutual Financial Group knows it. The group inked the shortstop—and ...

Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui wants to play in the big leagues, the seven-time All-Star said Monday. "It s been my dream to play in the majors," he said. "This represents a new challenge for me." ...

Matsui, an All-Star shortstop in Japan, has said he's coming to the United States. If so, the Mariners will be interested -- very interested. But what the Mariners are hearing is he might be ...

DENVER – He was once an opulent import, a lavish addition expected to vault the New York Mets to prominence. The mayor of New York and more than 200 reporters greeted him at a news conference to ...