For Japanese in O.C., Matsui is a blast(er)

MORE FROM DAVID WHITING: Amazing people, hot topics, wild outdoors.





Ryo Kimura, left, can't decide if he wants the red, the white, or maybe even both--Matsui jerseys, while Yui Ashizawa, right, offers his advise.

If you're a typical Angels fan you might call it Matsui Mania.

If you're a Blue Oyster Cult fan you might sing, "Godzilla," the Angels' designated hitter's nickname and the song the Yankees cranked up when Hideki Matsui played in New York.

But if you're like a whole new cadre of fans at the Big A, you think of home and of growing up going to games when Matsui ruled baseball in Japan.

You taste Matsui mania when you chomp down on the avocado and shrimp Matsui roll in the newly reopened sushi bar.

You hear about Godzilla's homeland when you visit the press box where 104 Japanese reporters cover Matsui's every move.

And you see the nostalgia on longtime fans' excited faces when the mighty Matsui advances to the plate.

But nowhere is Matsui mania more evident than in Angel Stadium's souvenir store.

What's the hottest item?

Shirts with Matsui's number on it, "55." Especially shirts with Matsui's name in Japanese.

But that wasn't the biggest surprise during my recent visit to Angel Stadium.

The biggest surprise was in the press box.


It's opening night, April 5, and Tomohiko Taki is in a long but fast-moving line in the souvenir shop. Up ahead, a half-dozen cashiers are working nonstop.

Nearly everybody's wearing red, Angel red. And they're buying more red, including Taki, who proudly holds the Japanese character version of Matsui's "55" shirt.

We share a bit about his homeland. I mention living outside Tokyo for a year as a toddler, confessing I remember nothing of being cared for by a kind widow and her son.

Of course, it's different for Taki. He remembers falling in love with baseball when he was a 14-year-old and Matsui was a rising star for the Yomiuri Giants

Taki, now a tech company manager who lives with his wife and three cats in Irvine, remembers all the games, all the hits.

What makes Matsui so special?

His power; his technique, Taki tells me.


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