SEOUL — Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui have been the greatest Japanese baseball players of their generation, excelling in the American major leagues just as they did at home.
One is a ferociously disciplined singles and doubles hitter, treating at-bats almost like a martial art, acquiring an image as an aloof, machine-like athlete as he chased hitting records on both sides of the Pacific.
The other is a slugger whose power is matched by an over-sized personality, adored by fans and the media brigade that followed his journey from Tokyo to New York in search of glory at the highest level of the game.
Ichiro is the stoic media-shy obsessive with the Seattle Mariners, who toiled in the obscurity of the smaller of his country's two leagues before becoming the first Japanese position player to dominate in Major League Baseball.
Matsui, of the fabled Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, is the one who famously cried on national TV when announcing his decision to leave for the Yankees, and who was swiftly forgiven at home as he shattered the perception that Japanese players couldn't hit the long ball in the American game.
If it was a rivalry for popularity in Japan, it wasn't really close. For years after leaving Japan, Matsui grabbed the headlines and the big endorsement deals back home. He stroked the media entourage that shadowed him, his personality as big as the town he played in. Ichiro did his best to ignore the media. Racking up records but playing on a non-contender, the Mariners' outfielder came to be seen as moody, even petulant.
Then came the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, and the baton was passed.
Matsui had a new contract with the Yankees and an unfulfilled dream of a World Series ring. Despite personal pleas from Sadaharu Oh, Japan's national manager and an icon himself, Matsui opted to skip the tournament. He put Steinbrenner before country.
And it sent a signal. Every other Japanese player in MLB opted out of the first Classic except for Texas Rangers reliever Akinori Otsuka -- and Ichiro.
Suddenly cast as the front man on a team with a shot at winning something important, Ichiro responded with a personality makeover. Gone was the "selfish" Ichiro. In its place was a sort of Japanese Derek Jeter, fired up in the dugout, pumping fists and rallying the Japanese team to victory. With Matsui doing sit-ups in Yankees spring training, Ichiro hit .364 against the best the rest of the world could throw at him, with four steals and seven runs scored.
