Clay Davenport’s translations, courtesy of the Baseball Prospectus, of Japanese league stats from 1997-2001 for new Hated Yankees outfielder Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui, now age 29:
Year—Avg/OBP/Slg
1997–.278/.396/.528
1998–.276/.402/.538
1999–.277/.392/.572
2000–.305/.430/.627
2001–.313/.442/.586
5 Yrs-.290/.413/.570
Likely new Mets 3B Norihiro Nakamura, also 29:
1997–.248/.327/.451
1998–.267/.359/.508
1999–.276/.367/.513
2000–.285/.376/.590
2001–.333/.432/.639
5 yrs–.283/.374/.543
Matsui looks like the better hitter, but Nakamura has been rising in recent years, and may well justify the Mets’ decision to let Edgardo Alfonzo go. I like the bold move on the part of both teams.
(Check Davenport’s full report for more detailed stats and his projections on other hitters)