Daisuke Matsuzaka (松坂 大輔, Matsuzaka Daisuke?, born September 13, 1980 in Tokyo, Japan; IPA: [da̟i̞s-ke̞ ma̟t͡süza̟ka̟]; often rendered as "DICE-k" or "DICE-keh"), nicknamed "The Monster" (怪物 kaibutsu) in Japan [1], is a Japanese professional baseball starting pitcher who became a member of the Boston Red Sox on December 13, 2006. He previously played for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League.

He has command of eight pitches: a four-seam fastball that ranges from 145–154 km/h (90 to 96 mph) with some late movement, two-seam fastball, cut fastball, curveball, slider, splitter, shuuto, and a screwball-like changeup which is considered his nastiest pitch; he can throw all eight pitches for strikes while using almost the exact same delivery. He was selected the MVP of the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Early life and career

Daisuke Matsuzaka's mother named him after the baseball player Daisuke Araki, who was playing in the Koshien tournament while she was pregnant.[3] Matsuzaka graduated from Yokohama High School in Japan in 1998 and became a national hero that same year when he pitched Yokohama High School into the Koshien Tournament. In the quarterfinals of that year's Koshien national high school baseball tournament, he threw 250 pitches in 17 innings against PL Gakuen. The next day, he played in the outfield but came in from the outfield in the ninth inning to record a save. In the final, he threw a no-hitter, the second ever in a final. This performance garnered the attention of a great many scouts. After his graduation, he was taken by the Seibu Lions with the first pick of the 1998 draft.

Professional career in Nippon Professional Baseball

In his first professional season in 1999, he had 16 wins and 5 losses as the team ace, and was voted Rookie of the Year.

Matsuzaka spent a considerable portion of his 2002 season on the disabled list, which does not count towards his service time.

In 2003, Matsuzaka logged 16 wins and 7 losses. He won the Pacific League ERA title with a 2.83 mark. Matsuzaka used to play for Japan's National Baseball Team, and pitched against South Korea.

2004 Olympic Games and the World Baseball Classic

He participated in the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece and was a key player in Japan's acquisition of the bronze medal. In 2006, Matsuzaka pitched for Japan in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. He was named tournament MVP after posting a 3–0 record, including a decisive win over Cuba in the tournament's championship game.

Major League transition

On October 25, 2006, Scott Boras was announced as Matsuzaka's agent to represent him in any contract dealings in the Major Leagues. On November 2, Matsuzaka was officially granted permission by the Lions to pursue a career in Major League Baseball via the posting system.

On November 14, the Boston Red Sox won the bidding rights to Matsuzaka with a bid of 51 Million (6 billion yen), outbidding the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees. The Red Sox had 30 days to sign Matsuzaka to a contract. If a deal could not be reached, Matsuzaka would have returned to the Lions, nullifying the bid. Scott Boras refused to consider the posting fee as part of the contract negotiations, while Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein recalled, "We tried to come up with a total number, for the post and contract, that made sense." On December 11, Epstein, Red Sox owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino boarded a plane to "[take] the fight directly to [Boras]". Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe asserted that Boras, by refusing to negotiate, was using Matsuzaka as a protest or "test case of the posting system."

On December 13, Matsuzaka and Boras joined Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, CEO Larry Lucchino, and Chairman Tom Werner on a private plane owned by Red Sox owner John W. Henry headed for Boston. During the dramatic flight—which was followed by both the Boston and the Japanese media —the group agreed to terms on a contact. Journalist Nobuhiro Chiba characterized Japanese reaction to the signing: "I think the people are relieved to send Daisuke to the Boston Red Sox." In Boston, Matsuzaka passed his physical and signed the six year, $52 million contract, which could be worth as much as $60 million if he reaches incentives. The details of the contract include a $2 million signing bonus with a $6 million salary in 2007, $8 million in each of the following three seasons (2008–2010), and $10 million in each of the final two years (2011–2012). He also has a no-trade clause, specially constructed by the Red Sox to fit Matsuzaka's contract.

The final agreement was announced Thursday, December 14 at a 5 p.m. EST news conference at Fenway Park. Afterwards some members of the press noted the confusion created by Matsuzaka's translator at that announcement. Art Martone of the Providence Journal commented, "Matsuzaka’s interpreter’s command of the English language was shaky, and thus the pitcher’s translated comments were brief and, occasionally, unintelligible. About the only clear statement related by the interpreter was when Matsuzaka said, 'I’m very happy and excited to be a member of the Boston Red Sox.'
Source : Wikipedia