Big Yankee at Hadlock

Staff photo by John Ewing

Hideki Matsui of the Yankees' was in the Trenton lineup Friday while on a rehab assignment. He was the Thunder's designated hitter and went 1-for-2.

Interesting segue at Hadlock Field before the sixth inning of the Sea Dogs game Friday night.

With the strains of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" still reverberating through the stands - "Good times never seem so good" - the song suddenly morphed into a chorus of boos.

Hideki Matsui, the injured left fielder of the New York Yankees, continued his rehabilitation assignment Friday night as designated hitter for the Trenton (N.J.) Thunder, who happen to be engaged in a best-of-five playoff series against the Sea Dogs for the Eastern League's Northern Division championship.

Matsui quickly silenced those sixth-inning boos - and gave voice to a significant contingent of Yankees fans in attendance - by cracking the first pitch from Sea Dogs left-hander Andrew Dobies into right field for a single.

It was the only hit for Matsui - he also walked twice and lined out to second base - and left him 2-for-8 with four walks in three rehab games for the Thunder, who lost 5-4 to the Sea Dogs and face elimination tonight at Hadlock in Game 4.

Playoff games in minor league baseball are often tough draws. Kids are back in school. The date isn't printed on a handy pocket schedule. Folks have made other plans.

And yet a crowd of 6,157 nearly filled Hadlock on Friday, a figure not seen since the halcyon days of '95 and '96. Last year the Sea Dogs and Thunder - the Double-A versions of the Red Sox and Yankees - drew an average of 4,091 in three games at Hadlock.

Certainly 10-year-old Lukas Johnson of Poland would not have been present Friday night if not for Matsui. Lukas wore a replica of Matsui's No. 55 Yankees, alongside the similarly pinstriped uniform tops of his brothers Zak (Jeter 2) and Kurt (Rodriguez 13).

"We're originally from New Jersey," explained Karen Johnson, also outfitted in Yankees togs. "We came because we heard he was playing."

As did 47 members of the Japanese media, representing five daily newspapers, six sporting newspapers, six television stations and two radio stations. Journalists who couldn't fit in the press box worked from the Hooper and Fisk skyboxes.

"They compare him in Tokyo to Elvis Presley," said Mark Littlefield, the Yankees' top player-development trainer, who grew up in Portland but now lives and works in Tampa.

Last month Littlefield went to the airport to pick up Matsui after midnight on a Saturday and was surprised to find Matsui and 30 Japanese journalists.

Before joining the Yankees, Matsui won three MVP awards in the Japanese Central League. The greatest Japanese slugger since Sadaharu Oh, Matsui also became known for his durability. He played in 1,250 consecutive games for the Yomiuri Giants, then another 518 for the Yankees before he suffered a fractured left wrist May 11 while diving for a sinking liner hit by Boston's Mark Loretta.

"He's a pro's pro," Littlefield said. "Very meticulous about everything he does. Those are the guys you love to work with."

The last time Littlefield brought a rehabbing Yankees player to Hadlock Field was 1998, and Bernie Williams received an ovation after interrupting his at-bat to autograph a ball for a boy who had been struck in the forehead by his pop foul.

"That remains one of my most memorable moments," Littlefield said. "He yelled to me, 'Hey, throw me a pen.' It was amazing."

Then, the Sea Dogs were a Florida Marlins affiliate, so Williams wasn't viewed as the enemy.

Matsui didn't produce a similar goose-bump moment Friday - he was on deck when the game ended, after Trenton scored twice in the ninth and put the potential tying run on second - but he conducted himself in a similarly classy manner.

Through an interpreter, Matsui complimented the ballpark ("It's beautiful"), the city ("It has an old-town feel, a charming feel to it") and even the Hadlock fans who remain faithful to the Old Towne Team.

"Just like with the Red Sox, they're very passionate about their team," Matsui said. "The booing I got felt like it was more than what I get at Fenway."

After the game, Matsui lingered to sign autographs along the left-field line. Before the gates had opened, he played catch for 10 minutes in left field with Trenton backup catcher Jason Brown, a member of the 2001 Sea Dogs.

So, did Matsui take the overnight bus from New Jersey with the rest of the Thunder?

"We asked him about that," Brown said with a laugh. "He said, no, he was not going to take the bus with us. He said he'd see us when we got here."

Matsui and Littlefield flew in together from Philadelphia, and they will fly out together after Game 4. In between, they'll be staying in an Old Port hotel.

"I heard the seafood is very good," Matsui said after Friday's game. "Hopefully I can try some tonight."

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