Following a Rockie road
Joe Nguyen, staff writer
June 12, 2006

AP Photo/Francis Specker Former New York Mets second baseman, Kazuo Matsui, strikes out against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Takashi Saito in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 6.

The Colorado Rockies acquired second baseman Kazuo Matsui in a trade with the New York Mets Friday.

Matsui, 30, was acquired by the Rockies for outfielder Eli Marrero and cash considerations. Marrero was hitting .217 with four home runs and 10 RBIs.

After spending the first three weeks of the regular season with an injury, Matsui returned to bat .200 with one home run and seven RBIs in 130 at-bats. His one home run came on his first plate appearance of the season. An interesting tidbit since he’s hit a home run on the first plate appearance in each of his first three seasons in America.

Nicknamed “Little Matsui” in comparison to New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, Kazuo was a seven-time All-star and a three-time Gold Glove winner in Japan. In 1998, he was named the Pacific League’s Most Valuable Player.

In Dec. 2003, he signed a three-year, $20 million contract with the Mets and became the first infielder to sign with a Major League team.

Though highly touted, Matsui never materialized into the star he was expected to become. According to the New York Times, he moved from shortstop to second base because of a lack of arm strength.

His best season was his rookie year in 2004 when he hit .272 with seven home runs, batted in 44 runs and stole 14 bases in 114 games. This pales in comparison to his seven consecutive seasons batting over .300 while playing in every game during that period.

Many analysts are predicting that this trade will be beneficial to both teams. The Mets trade away a player who wasn’t fitting in its system, while Matsui gets a fresh start in a new environment. Plus the high altitude doesn’t hurt either.

Joe Nguyen is a staff writer for asiaXpress.com. You can reach Joe at joe@asiaxpress.com.