It cost the Boston Red Sox $103.11 million to put a No. 18 jersey on Matsuzaka’s back, including a cool $51.11 million for the rights to simply talk to the man. But Matsuzaka is better known by converting that 103 million dollar number to the fact that he’s worth twelve billion yen back home.
Daisuke Matsuzaka was born September 13, 1980 in Tokyo, Japan, where he was destined for baseball success as his mother named him after the great Japanese ballplayer Daisuke Araki.
Matsuzaka accepted his namesake at Yokohama High School by becoming a hero his senior season. He lead Yokohama in the Koshien Tournament, which is the national high school baseball contest. Some highlights of the tournament for Kaibutsu, or “the monster,” included a 17-inning, 250-pitch performance, as well as a no hitter in the final.
Everyone was lining up to see Kaibutsu.
Just after graduating from Yokohama High School, the Seibu Lions made the 6-foot-0, 187-pounder the No. 1 overall pick in 1998 Japanese Baseball League Draft. Matsuzaka did not disappoint the Lion faithful, posting 16 victories as the staff ace while being awarded as the Rookie of the Year at the ripe old age of 18.
And all this was just the beginning for Matsuzaka.
Over the course of his eight-year career with the Seibu Lions, the righty won 108 games and posted a career ERA below three (2.94). His best season came last year as he put up a 17-5 record to go along with his 2.13 ERA.
Kaibutsu has turned into a far more Americanized Dice-K and D-Mat since pursuing a Major League Baseball career. One thing that has yet to be determined is if Matsuzaka’s game will transition as well as his nickname.
There is no reason not to think that Matsuzaka will become what the Red Sox brass is praying for. The thing that stands out when scouting him is that he throws a very live ball with a great deal of movement. Matsuzaka has an overpowering fastball in the high 90’s, a good changeup, and he's working on something that big league hitters have never seen before: the gyroball.
While there is no mystery – like the name may suggest – the gyroball is simply Matsuzaka’s amazingly hard, biting slider with the drop of a good curveball. No matter what you wish to call it, just know that the famous Matsuzaka ball is known as the “demon pitch” in Japan.
As impressive as the pure stuff factor is for Daisuke Matsuzaka, statistics have to play into the discussion as well. He only walked 34 batters while striking out an outstanding 200 in 186.1 innings with a microscopic WHIP of 0.92 last season and has posted a career WHIP of just 1.17.
Consensus safe estimates for what to expect from Matsuzaka this season show him putting up between 14-16 wins with an ERA in the mid to high three’s. But the projections continue to show him with a very low WHIP number in the low to mid 1.20 range. If Matsuzaka was able to produce such a WHIP in the big leagues last season, he would have ranked in the top 20 – borderline top 10 – among starters in the entire league.
Regardless of the wins and runs components, the experts agree that Matsuzaka’s ability to keep runners off the base paths will translate to MLB success.
While he will need time to develop into the dominant force he was in Japan, Matsuzaka already carries the experience of a big game starting pitcher. This fact plus his overpowering stuff on the mound, translates to big time success in the Majors. Call him Dice-K or D-Mat if you want, but just know that Kaibutsu will be a monster on this side of the sea for years to come.
Adam Loberstein is a big fan of the newest man from Japan. Feel free to agree or disagree by emailing him at adamloberstein@gmail.com.