Here Comes Little Matsui

In the Samurai classic Yojimbo, rival factions bid for the services of a mercenary who has wandered into town. To which side will this mysterious swordsman give his allegiance? � Kazuo Matsui is baseball's yojimbo, a free agent from Japan with more suitors than a Muromachi Era princess. No fewer than nine major league teams-including the rival New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox—are reportedly in the running for the services of the 5'9" shortstop. The question brewing on hot stoves on two continents is not just where this bat-and-glove for hire will wind up, but also whether he's willing to change positions or play in the shadow of another Japanese star.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, Matsui is considered the best every-day player. The 28-year-old switch-hitter—who is not related to Yankees leftfielder Hideki Matsui (whose 6'2", 210-pound frame and status as Japan 's premier power hitter led to Kazuo's being dubbed Little Matsui)—has won four Gold Gloves, batted better than .300 for seven straight years, hit at least 20 homers in each of the last four seasons and stolen 30 or more bases five times. In a millennium poll, fans voted him the greatest Japanese shortstop ever. He was 24 at the time.

"Kazuo is the Alex Rodriguez of the Japanese game," says Robert Whiting , author of You Gotta Have Wa, the definitive English book on Japanese baseball. Until announcing his plans to jump to the U.S. last week, Matsui was on his way to becoming his country's Cal Ripken Jr. His consecutive-games streak of 1,143 is the fifth-longest in Japanese baseball history. " Matsui plays hurt and doesn't know where the trainer's table is," says Ted Heid, director of Pacific Rim operations for the Seattle Mariners . "I think he's going to be very, very successful in the U.S. "

Heid, whose reports prompted the Mariners to sign outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and relief pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki , has been stalking Matsui for six years. His scouting report: "Extremely strong arm. Outstanding range, comparable to Omar Vizquel 's. Fast as a bullet train." Suzuki , the quickest player in the American League , says Matsui is even quicker than he is.

Affable and self-effacing, Matsui certainly has the quickest smile east of Yokohoma. On this brisk autumn afternoon in downtown Tokyo , he wears it with a black velvet blazer, a black silk shirt and the gold peace medallion his wife, Mio, gave him in October for his 28th birthday.

His spiky hair is dyed a reddish orange. Normally it's metallic silver. Unless it's electric mustard. Or sea-urchin blue. "My high school coach didn't like all the different colors," Matsui , who speaks virtually no English, says through an interpreter.

Matsui 's hair—a symbol of his longstanding desire to set himself apart as a flashy, hip celebrity—is the subject of endless discussion in the Japanese press. As is his relationship (or lack of one) with his estranged father, a topic that Matsui won't discuss.

He's happy to talk baseball, though. He was a short, frail pitcher until his freshman year of high school. "I watched American baseball on TV and realized all the players were strong in the upper body," he says. "So I started lifting weights."

Too many weights. He injured his right elbow and required minor surgery. "My doctor told me to cut down on my weight training," he says.

"Did you?"