He was only 5'10". But he threw 90-plus with a nasty hammer. He was throwing 90 to 95 at the beginning of the tournament and around 85 by the end, but nobody could hit him because his command was amazing. I nicknamed him Elvis after that. People would go crazy when they saw him walking around, wanting to take his picture, get his autograph."
Arizona offered him $3.3 million to sign (and Colorado more than $3 million), but Daniel says he couldn't compete with the offer from Seibu, which he estimates at about $15 million plus assorted perks. Matsuzaka was an immediate sensation in the Japan leagues. At age 18 in 1999 he threw 180 innings, had a 2.60 ERA and struck out Ichiro Suzuki three times in one game. The Japanese television network NHK produced a 50-minute program that year entitled Eighteen-Year-Old Daisuke Matsuzaka: The Super Rookie's Spirit and Technique.
Over his eight seasons with Seibu, Matsuzaka compiled a 108-60 record with a 2.95 ERA while averaging a complete game every 2.8 starts. (The major league average in 2006 was a complete game every 33.8 starts.) His 13 complete games last year were more than the staffs of all but one major league team had.
Was he ever removed from a game because of a high pitch count?
"No," he says.
Did coaches keep a pitch-count clicker in the dugout for him?
"No."
Did Matsuzaka ever have a pitch limit?
"I had three managers and various coaches in Japan," he says. "All of them were operating with the understanding that this guy can throw any number of pitches unless I requested to be taken out because I was tired or I was hit very badly. Those were the only two reasons they would pull me."
By 2005, in need of a bigger challenge, Matsuzaka was eager to move on to the majors. Seibu acquiesced to his wishes after the '06 season by officially posting his availability to major league teams, a system agreed upon by Japanese owners and MLB to create an open market for Japanese players (preventing the kind of deal that gave the San Diego Padres exclusive rights to Hideki Irabu in 1997). Teams entered blind bids for the rights to Matsuzaka, the winner paying that amount to Seibu upon signing the pitcher.
Early speculation had the top fee coming in at $20 million to $30 million, roughly twice the $13 million Seattle put up in 2000 for the rights to Ichiro. Glowing reports from Pacific Rim scouts Craig Shipley and Jon Deeble persuaded the Red Sox that they had to have Matsuzaka. Privately they were terrified the Yankees would get him and build a dominant rotation with Matsuzaka; 26-year-old Chien Ming Wang, a 19-game winner last year; and Phil Hughes, who at 20 is considered baseball's best pitching prospect.
Red Sox executives figured New York was capable of bidding more than $40 million. But unbeknownst to them, Yankees G.M. Brian Cashman, who'd gained control of baseball operations, had been pushing a philosophical change to improve player development and curb the team's lavish spending. Cashman bid $33 million (and told people afterward that he felt uncomfortable going even that high).
Unlike the Yankees, whose bid was based largely on Matsuzaka's perceived value, the Red Sox were playing the game. They talked themselves into a $50 million bid as a hedge against the Yankees. Then owner John Henry bumped it to $51.1 million, for extra wiggle room and the uniqueness of the number. "We had to decide what he would be worth as an unrestricted free agent, then get the total price to fall in that range," Epstein says. "Two forces were at work. First, if you don't win the post, you don't get the player. We had strong indications that he didn't want to go back to Japan and would be motivated to sign. And second, the posting money is not counted against the luxury tax."
Henry and Red Sox president Larry Lucchino walked into the offices of Major League Baseball International with their sealed bid five minutes before the deadline. They promptly ran into New York Mets G.M. Omar Minaya and his assistant, Tony Bernazard, who were hand-delivering their own sealed bid: $39 million.
"I'm sure the Mets felt like they had the winning bid," Lucchino said. "The next thing you know, when the bid was announced, everybody was saying, 'The Red Sox bid what? Oh, my god.'"
Arizona offered him $3.3 million to sign (and Colorado more than $3 million), but Daniel says he couldn't compete with the offer from Seibu, which he estimates at about $15 million plus assorted perks. Matsuzaka was an immediate sensation in the Japan leagues. At age 18 in 1999 he threw 180 innings, had a 2.60 ERA and struck out Ichiro Suzuki three times in one game. The Japanese television network NHK produced a 50-minute program that year entitled Eighteen-Year-Old Daisuke Matsuzaka: The Super Rookie's Spirit and Technique.
Over his eight seasons with Seibu, Matsuzaka compiled a 108-60 record with a 2.95 ERA while averaging a complete game every 2.8 starts. (The major league average in 2006 was a complete game every 33.8 starts.) His 13 complete games last year were more than the staffs of all but one major league team had.
Was he ever removed from a game because of a high pitch count?
"No," he says.
Did coaches keep a pitch-count clicker in the dugout for him?
"No."
Did Matsuzaka ever have a pitch limit?
"I had three managers and various coaches in Japan," he says. "All of them were operating with the understanding that this guy can throw any number of pitches unless I requested to be taken out because I was tired or I was hit very badly. Those were the only two reasons they would pull me."
By 2005, in need of a bigger challenge, Matsuzaka was eager to move on to the majors. Seibu acquiesced to his wishes after the '06 season by officially posting his availability to major league teams, a system agreed upon by Japanese owners and MLB to create an open market for Japanese players (preventing the kind of deal that gave the San Diego Padres exclusive rights to Hideki Irabu in 1997). Teams entered blind bids for the rights to Matsuzaka, the winner paying that amount to Seibu upon signing the pitcher.
Early speculation had the top fee coming in at $20 million to $30 million, roughly twice the $13 million Seattle put up in 2000 for the rights to Ichiro. Glowing reports from Pacific Rim scouts Craig Shipley and Jon Deeble persuaded the Red Sox that they had to have Matsuzaka. Privately they were terrified the Yankees would get him and build a dominant rotation with Matsuzaka; 26-year-old Chien Ming Wang, a 19-game winner last year; and Phil Hughes, who at 20 is considered baseball's best pitching prospect.
Red Sox executives figured New York was capable of bidding more than $40 million. But unbeknownst to them, Yankees G.M. Brian Cashman, who'd gained control of baseball operations, had been pushing a philosophical change to improve player development and curb the team's lavish spending. Cashman bid $33 million (and told people afterward that he felt uncomfortable going even that high).
Unlike the Yankees, whose bid was based largely on Matsuzaka's perceived value, the Red Sox were playing the game. They talked themselves into a $50 million bid as a hedge against the Yankees. Then owner John Henry bumped it to $51.1 million, for extra wiggle room and the uniqueness of the number. "We had to decide what he would be worth as an unrestricted free agent, then get the total price to fall in that range," Epstein says. "Two forces were at work. First, if you don't win the post, you don't get the player. We had strong indications that he didn't want to go back to Japan and would be motivated to sign. And second, the posting money is not counted against the luxury tax."
Henry and Red Sox president Larry Lucchino walked into the offices of Major League Baseball International with their sealed bid five minutes before the deadline. They promptly ran into New York Mets G.M. Omar Minaya and his assistant, Tony Bernazard, who were hand-delivering their own sealed bid: $39 million.
"I'm sure the Mets felt like they had the winning bid," Lucchino said. "The next thing you know, when the bid was announced, everybody was saying, 'The Red Sox bid what? Oh, my god.'"
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