Originally Published: December 9, 2003

NEXT: Kaz Matsui

Kazuo Matsui leads a third wave of Japanese exports to America. Asia is NEXT. And now is the time to tell you why.

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By By Luke Cyphers
ESPN The Magazine
The Yankee imperialists are here. So are the Met and Dodger and Oriole and Mariner and, of course, Nike imperialists. Some 8,000 miles from America, in a sterile domed stadium in Sapporo, they hunt for resources to exploit, gems to bring home. Here, at Asia's Olympic-qualifying tournament in early November, they find plenty on Japan's national team.

"Matsuzaka," says one major league scout, savoring the word like a rich piece of sashimi. "And he's their second-best pitcher."

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