Matsui doing it all, including playing the outfield

ANAHEIM, Calif. - It mattered greatly to Hideki Matsui, and were he still with the Yankees, it might not have happened.

In his debut season with the Los Angeles Angels, the 35-year-old Matsui played leftfield last night for the first time since June 15, 2008.

"As a baseball player, you want to be complete, you want to be able to play defense, not just one or two aspects of the game,'' Matsui said.

Matsui signed a one-year, $6.5-million contract with the Angels after seven years with the Yankees. He hit .274 with 28 home runs and 90 RBIs in 142 games last season and had an unforgettable World Series. In 13 at-bats, he hit .615 with three homers and eight RBIs and was named Series MVP.

But Matsui's knees, which were operated on during the 2007 and 2008 offseasons, had relegated him to the designated hitter role with the Yankees. When he became a free agent, they wanted to replace him with someone who had the versatility to play the field.

The Angels cautiously think Matsui still can do that. Manager Mike Scioscia said he wants Matsui in the outfield because it benefits his team.

"Different teams have different needs," Scioscia said this week. "The guideline is we definitely know what he has to do in the batter's box for our team, we're not going to put that in jeopardy. But his ability to play the outfield on a limited basis is something that could be very, very important to us. I think he's totally healthy."

Matsui homered on Opening Day, reminiscent of his 2003 Yankee Stadium debut, when he became the only Yankee in franchise history to hit a grand slam in his first game at the Stadium.

Angels fans in the rightfield bleachers came prepared for his debut, holding cards above their heads that spelled "Matsuiland."

Through his first three games, Matsui was batting .455 with a homer and two RBIs. Against the Twins' Carl Pavano on Wednesday night, Matsui had two singles and a double in a 4-2 loss.

"I saw him the other day in the weight room. He looks good," Pavano said. "He doesn't look like he ages."

The waves of Japanese media following Matsui haven't lessened. Nor has the fan adulation.

"It's Godzilla!" centerfielder Torii Hunter said. "Matsui, MVP of the World Series. He should be recognized. This is one of the quietest clutch hitters in the game."

His new teammates say Matsui has adjusted well to the clubhouse, with help from another former Yankees outfielder, Bobby Abreu, who was the DH last night.

Matsui returns to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday for the start of a three-game series, and how he feels about his old club isn't clear. Asked directly, he said his focus now is only helping the Angels. But in November, Matsui was quoted as saying he would be disappointed if the Yankees didn't re-sign him.

"I'm looking forward to it, but I don't know what I'm going to feel," Matsui said of entering Yankee Stadium wearing an opponent's uniform.

Hunter, who spent his first 11 seasons with the Twins before signing with the Angels, said Matsui's homecoming won't be easy.

"I was very, very emotional, man," he said. "The media's going to be all over him every day. He's going to be drained mentally. People he's known for the last seven years are going to be all over him. He's going to see his teammates, Derek Jeter, he loves those guys."

Outside of the ballpark, Matsui said he doesn't have plans to see former teammates. What he misses is his New York apartment.

As for the possibility of playing leftfield again at Yankee Stadium?

"We don't have a plan down past [Thursday]," Scioscia said. "Can't get too far ahead of yourself."