So yesterday/today was Hideki Matsui's Spring Training debut. For those who have no clue as to what I'm talking about, Hideki Matsui is the latest Japanese import (or export depending on how you look at it) to Major League Baseball. He's slated to be the starting left fielder for the heralded New York Yankees. And of course, the Japanese media was there in full force. Apparently, the Spring Training game against the Cincinnati Reds was televised here in Japan... live. Yes, since it was live it was on TV here at about 3 AM. The man known as "Godzilla" here in the Land of the Rising Sun, hit a 2 run blast much to the surprise and excitement of the entire country as well as himself (just look at the picture in the ESPN article).
The thing that makes Matsui different from the supa-dupa-mega-supa-(did I say supa yet?)star Ichiro is that Matsui isn't a contact/gap hitter. He's a power hitter. He hits homeruns. Hence the nickname Godzilla. Since Matsui signed on with the New York Yankees, the Japanese media's been asking one question: "Will Matsui be able to hit homeruns in America?"
I've been especially intrigued by how the Japanese media's been presenting the situation. In the process, they've of course been analyzing pretty much every aspect of American baseball... and how they're different from Japanese baseball. Japanese sports "experts" have been analyzing the differences between the styles of play in American and Japanese baseball. How American pitchers don't nibble on the corners of the strike zone as much as Japanese pitchers do. How American pitchers throw harder than Japanese pitchers. How strategy is different. Even how the actual balls are made differently. The "experts" have also been talking about how the ballparks in America are considerably larger (thus, a little harder to hit a homerun) than their Japanese counterparts.
But this analysis isn't what's been so incredibly interesting to me. It's the tone, the inflections, the subtle nuances. The reporters and experts, while they are presenting the information, they exude a sense of doubt. It's very clear that they doubt Matsui can be "successful" as a homerun hitter in American Major League Baseball. It's almost like they're trying very hard to lower the expectations so that in case Matsui isn't successful, they won't be so disappointed. And if Matsui does prove to be successful, it would exceed those lowered expectations causing everybody to be elated. Basically, it feels like they're protecting themselves from being disappointed in Matsui. The funny thing is that inside, every Japanese person hopes and expects Matsui to be a superstar.
Example... this past baseball season, Matsui came close to winning the Japanese Triple Crown (that is, the #1 hitter in batting average, homeruns, and runs batted in) in the Central League. At the same time there were lots of rumors (in Japan, a rumor is pretty much fact) of Matsui going to America to play for the Yankees. Late in the season when it became apparent that he wasn't going to get the Triple Crown because he was a few points shy of winning the batting title, many sports reporters openly doubted that this was a sign that he wouldn't be successful at the Major League level. I was like, "C'mon! He still mashed a bunch of homeruns, drove in a bunch of runners home, and hit for a very good average. He doesn't have to be the best at everything here in Japan to be able to compete and succeed at the Major League level!"
In somewhat related news... Barry Bonds is a media icon here in Japan. I think I've seen him on Japanese TV doing interviews more often than I've ever seen him on American TV. Anyway, recently he was doing an interview with a Japanese television station. Here's an excerpt of the interview:

Interviewer: Mr. Bonds, to you, what is baseball?
Barry Bonds: To me, baseball's just a game.
Interviewer: (in a shocked tone) Just a game?!
Barry Bonds: Yeah, just a game.
Interviewer: (still shocked) Just a game?!
Barry Bonds: (smiling) Yeah, it's just a game. I mean, it's not going to change anything in the world. It doesn't mean all that much in the world. It's just a game.
Interviewer: Oh.

I dunno what the interviewer was hoping Bonds would say... but I'm sure she was expecting some deep, philosophical answer from "the best player in American baseball."