Broadway bust morphs into Rocky Mountain hero

Kaz Matsui is hitting .310 in the postseason, including 5-for-10 with RISP. AP

World Series Coverage   Monday John Donovan: Rox, Sox built to last Albert Chen: Ellsbury an unlikely hero Joe Sheehan: Scenes, notes from clincher Red Sox celebrate World Series victory Sunday Sox clip Rockies 4-3 to win World Series John Donovan's Report Card for Game 4 Jon Heyman's 15 Greatest Mr. Octobers Lowell takes home Series MVP honors Dynasty in the making for Red Sox? Clock strikes midnight for Rockies' ride Time.com: Red Sox are the new Yankees Saturday Red Sox down Rockies 10-5, take 3-0 lead John Donovan's Report Card for Game 3 Tom Verducci: The Sox are superior John Donovan: The Coors Field factor Jon Heyman: Four keys to Game 3 Friday Melissa Segura: Corpas gets his wish John Donovan: Rockies' lumber slumber Jon Heyman: How the Sox got Beckett Joe Sheehan: Electric night at Fenway Thursday Schilling, bullpen shut down Rockies 2-1 John Donovan's Report Card for Game 2 Tom Verducci's five cuts for Thursday Albert Chen on the Red Sox's bullpen John Donovan: Rockies turn to a rookie Joe Sheehan: Postseason drama lacking Tale of the Tape: Rockies vs. Red Sox World Series Fungoes Joe Lemire on Rockies-Red Sox Schedule/Box Scores Game 1: Red Sox 13, Rockies 1 Game 2: Red Sox 2, Rockies 1 Game 3: Red Sox 10, Rockies 5 Game 4: Red Sox 4, Rockies 3

Kazuo Matsui has worn a World Series ring before.

It was Dec. 2003, in a midtown Manhattan hotel, and Matsui was being formally introduced to the United States. Two hundred reporters showed up for the occasion. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg emceed. One of the Mets' minority owners, Saul Katz, lent Matsui a 1986 World Series championship ring and encouraged him to show it off.

Matsui raised his bejeweled hand to the crowd and said through his interpreter: "I'm going to do my best to bring another one to the city and to the New York Mets."

A little less than four years later, Matsui is heading to the World Series with the Colorado Rockies. The Mets, meanwhile, are still trying to recover from their historic nose dive. For Mets fans, watching the 2007 playoffs on television has been excruciating enough. But watching Matsui play in the World Series will be a surreal kind of torture.

The history of New York baseball is littered with unrealistic expectations and colossal disappointments. But even by New York standards, Matsui was an enormous bust. In Japan, he was a seven-time All Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner and an international iron-man. In New York, he was an injury-prone defensive liability who swung so wildly that he would often do complete pirouettes in the batters box.

The Mets gave Matsui three years to acclimate to the major leagues. And wouldn't you know, in this his fourth year, he finally did. While the Mets could not win in September, Matsui and the Rockies could not lose. And while the Mets could not beat the Phillies to make the playoffs, Matsui and Rockies swept the Phillies out of the playoffs in the first round. Matsui batted .417 in the series and belted a grand slam.

It was the kind of performance the Mets anticipated when they gave Matsui a three-year, $20 million contract, then added a $25,000 housing allowance, a full-time translator, a free car and eight business-class tickets from New York to Tokyo. They even pushed their top prospect, Jose Reyes, to second base so Matsui could play shortstop.

I was a Mets beat writer when Matsui arrived at spring training in 2004. He dyed his hair orange. He wore vintage T-shirts and designer jeans. He scrawled Japanese characters on his bat for luck. He slid silver beads around his ankles because he said they harnessed energy. Around Port St. Lucie, Fla., he was sort of like an Asian Beckham.

Ten days into spring training, his personal saga began. Matsui cut his middle finger fielding a ground ball and had to sit out. This was a guy who had played 1,143 consecutive games. Now he was hurt before the first game of his first exhibition season.

But the real trouble arose when Matsui came back. In Japan, he had been accustomed to fielding on artificial turf, where the hops are fast and true. He would sit back on ground balls, play them to the side, and take his time side-arming to first.

The Mets had to teach Matsui fundamentals of the game -- how to charge grounders, how to get in front of balls, how to throw overhand to first base. It did not do much good. For most of his rookie year, Matsui led all shortstops in errors.

"I think he'll be a superstar someday," former Mets' outfielder Cliff Floyd said in '04. "But you can't expect that right now. You've got to be patient."

There were problems with Matsui's arm, his hands and his eyes. He could barely read the signs flashed by the catcher. The Mets tried to get him prescription goggles, but he resisted. After weeks of consideration, he finally agreed to wear contact lenses. He suffered another injury when one of the contact lenses scratched his cornea.

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