TOKYO (AP) -- Daisuke Matsuzaka said Wednesday he will pursue his dream of playing in the U.S. major leagues after the Seibu Lions officially agreed to the Japanese star pitcher's release.
The most dominant pitcher in Japanese baseball for the past eight seasons, Matsuzaka told a packed press conference that it has long been his desire to play in the majors...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/11/01/matsuzaka.post.ap/index.html
The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners have shown interest in Matsuzaka. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets are also thought to be among teams with the best chances of signing the Japanese star.
Reports say the Lions plan to charge an MLB team US$30 million (euro23.6 million) just for rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. That's not including the US$13 million-$15 million (euro10 million-euro12 million) he'll likely earn on a yearly basis.
The most dominant pitcher in Japanese baseball for the past eight seasons, Matsuzaka told a packed press conference that it has long been his desire to play in the majors...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/11/01/matsuzaka.post.ap/index.html
The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners have shown interest in Matsuzaka. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets are also thought to be among teams with the best chances of signing the Japanese star.
Reports say the Lions plan to charge an MLB team US$30 million (euro23.6 million) just for rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. That's not including the US$13 million-$15 million (euro10 million-euro12 million) he'll likely earn on a yearly basis.