New York (CNN) -- To the delight of fans back home in Tokyo, Hideki Matsui drove in six of the New York Yankees' seven runs in their World Series-winning victory Wednesday and became the first Japanese-born player to win a series Most Valuable Player award. For much of his career, Matsui was a star player for the Tokyo Giants. Matsui's key role in the series highlights the close ties between American and Japanese baseball. Playing in the Yankees' new stadium, the successor to the "House that Ruth Built," Matsui's performance brought to mind the key role that Babe Ruth played in the development of professional baseball in Japan, according to Robert Fitts, author of several books on Japanese baseball.
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Japanese baseball book author says Babe Ruth sparked professional game in Japan
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Robert Fitts says 1934 tour by American all-stars led to first pro teams
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He says Yankees star Matsui is example for American ballplayers
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Fitts: Matsui's emphasis on perfecting and practicing technique leads to success
@placeholder found this quite insulting, even though they had agreed to it in the 1920s.