Congrats to Godzilla

For the most part, this face dominates the advertising space in Japan:


And rightly so. Ichiro has done wonders bringing to light the talent and compassion Japan has invested in baseball for years. Ichiro has played for the Seattle Mariners in the United States since 2001 where he has showcased his talents as a hitting machine. Now, second only to the legendary Pete Rose for career hits, Ichiro has cemented himself with the baseball elite both in the States and of course, back in his native Japan. Thus, you can find Ichiro's face on numerous ads in Japan from Kirin beer, to NTT Telecommunications (above), to Mizuno sporting goods.

Yet, there is another power-house baseball player who has been working in the United States. Hideki Matsui, nicknamed, "Godzilla", has been playing with the New York Yankees since 2003. He is a power left-handed hitter who grew up a right-handed hitter. He changed to a lefty growing up in order to level the playing field with his friends. This advertisement for for Kirin's "Fire" Coffee brand came out a few months ago with his face on it. I remembered thinking that he is often overshadowed by Ichiro, and this was one of the few ads I had seen of him.

Matsui's performance in the 2009 World Series with the Yankees might change that a little. He not only helped the Yankees to victory, but won the World Series MVP award by tying a World Series record with 6 RBIs in the decisive game. When you think about it, it's pretty impressive that Matsui bats clean-up in a Yankees lineup worth over $300 million and half of whom will arguable end up in the hall of fame. Maybe even Matsui himself.

Congrats to Matsui, and to the people of Japan who support their ambassadors of baseball. Matsui enters the off-season a free-agent and who knows where he'll land. Rumors have circulated he would go play with Ichiro in Seattle, return back to Japan to play for the team he supported as a kid, the Hanshin Tigers, or maybe even be re-signed by the Yankees. Although, he's 35 and showing his age in the outfield, his face alone brings in millions from Japanese advertisers and fans. One thing is for sure, though, we'll probably be seeing a lot more of Matsui's face in advertisements around here!